Assassin's Creed Gaiden: Kanon's Story
by XepherFlame
Summary: Kanon, an Assassin sent to Europe, fell in love with a beautiful woman named Fiona Cavazza. -Update- Caught between a rock and... dead bodies, Kanon and Thomas must take care of Crystal and Eve before the guards take care of them first... In a bad way.
1. Sequence 0 Fateful Encounter

Chapter 0: Fateful Encounter

Kanon, in his Assassin White tunic, sat on top of a building. A gust of wind lightly brushed past his hood, revealing the intense eyes that lied hidden beneath it.

"Time to get to work..." he muttered to himself as he watched over the city, hanging out with the birds that occupy the rooftop. He noticed a bale of hay sitting under him, and figured that he could use it as a cushion to break his fall. With a shrug, he got up from his spot, wiped any dirt that tainted his pure white treads, and spread his arms out like a pair of wings before stepping towards the edge of the roof.

The Assassin closed his eyes before his descent to free fall, knowing that fate guided him towards that safety net. He can't die... or rather; he knows that he WOULDN'T die, unless it was his time. With that in mind, he smiled and jumped off the roof. His hood resembled a beak, and his arms a set of wings; those two combined made him look like a majestic eagle.

But no one saw it. Kanon hit the hay bale in a blink of an eye, and got out as fast as he could. A few pieces of hay stuck to his clothes, but other than that, Kanon got out relatively unscathed. He checked the vambrace he donned on his left arm for the Hidden Blade: It was still there, sitting pretty underneath his sleeve. He also checked the Sword of Rain that rested in his waist: Still there. He smiled, and walked away.

But he didn't get far; a beauty caught his eye. Kanon stood silent as a woman dressed with a pink vest with a white shirt underneath walked past him, brushing against his shoulder. Kanon was speechless: Who was she?

Kanon didn't hesitate... at least, not more than he already did... to introduce himself. He spun around as she walked away, and ran to catch up to her, tapping on her shoulder to get her attention.

"What do you want?" she said coldly, as fire bred in her eyes.

Kanon was slightly taken back. Was he in the wrong?

"I just wanted to get your name, Miss."

"Why? It's not like you'd remember... It's not like anybody will remember it..."

Her eyes quickly shifted away from him, but Kanon saw her eyes shimmer a little. Was she crying? Before Kanon could ask, the woman just turned away.

"I have to go to work," she said with a cold heart, as she resumed walking away from him. Kanon didn't let up.

"A woman as beautiful as you need not work," Kanon replied with a smile, but the woman only turned around for a brief second to give her answer.

"Unfortunately, it is my beauty that gives me work..."

Kanon didn't understand her cryptic response, but the woman didn't stand there long enough to clear things up. She kept on walking.

Kanon saw sadness in her eyes... he wanted to know her story.

"Fate may decide what happens, but sometimes... we need to create our own.

With that in mind, he decided to tail the woman.


	2. Sequence 1 For the one

Sequence 1: For the one

"Hide in plain sight."

That part of the Assassin's Creed bounced around inside Kanon's mind as he bowed his head, following this woman while blending in with a crowd of people. With a myriad of flashy colors surrounding him, no one will notice the boring, albeit shiny, white tunic sitting near the anonymous middle. Kanon kept his head down enough to hide his face, but not so far down that he couldn't keep one eye on the woman.

The woman (Kanon was so keen on learning about) walked with a strut, breaking men's neck as their eyes follow her behind. Some stood completely still, watching her go while others kept walking, bumping into people or tripping over "that box."

Those fools.

Sure, Kanon did notice how... structured the woman was... and the way she walked... and how soft her lips looked... but... but...

...

What was he saying?

Kanon shook his head, being free from lustful thoughts, and kept his eyes on the prize, (and what a prize she was), hoping to follow her to her job.

What job could she have possessed? Kanon wondered. Did she work at a bakery? No... She wouldn't be dressed for something like that. Maybe she ran some stables? No... She was too pretty for that. Well, she did mention her beauty being a factor... Maybe she worked in a bank? Her looks could distract people from "double checking" their accounts...

Kanon was deep in thought, with his body moving on auto-pilot moving with the crowd, being careful not to do anything more than simply brushing someone's shoulder. He didn't know what she did, but whatever it was, he would visit every day.

She stopped. He did as well. People behind him got mad.

She looked left and right. He imitated that notion. The people walked around him in frustration.

She walked forward to a shoddy looking building. He walked in closer, getting out of the crowd.

She took one more look around her, this time a good 360 degrees. Kanon was in plain sight, and sensing that she would look back, he jumped into a nearby well, being careful not to fall in. It was too dark to see how deep the well was, but the fact that he didn't even feel any moisture made him feel uneasy.

The woman, certain that no one was following her, opened the door and walked in. Kanon jumped out of the well, again, being careful to not to slip and fall. He walked towards the building, and stared at a sign that hung over the door.

"Rosa In Fiore?" he said to himself, "Blooming Rose?"

Kanon, despite being here in the amount of time he did, didn't know what this place was. It sounds like a decent place, but a list of possibilities of what their services could be ran through his head.

He immediately thought it was a flower shop, but he saw no flowers... Who would open a flower shop and not showcase any? It could've been a restaurant, but considering how bad the place looked, who'd eat here?

Kanon frowned. He just realized that in the amount of time he spent WONDERING what kind of a place this was, he could've just walked in and found out. He gave himself a mental face palm and opened the door.

Inside was a lobby with women standing all around. A good majority of them were wearing the same outfit with matching horns of hair. A woman standing behind a podium nodded her head at a young man holding the small of the back of another woman. The man returned the gesture, and then took the woman upstairs. After her business with him was done, the woman behind the podium saw Kanon and called him over.

"Ah... You may approach me."

Kanon slowly walked over to her. Several women remarked how handsome he looked as he passed by, which slightly embarrassed him. However, he paid them no mind and walked up to the woman.

"Ah, a new face," she greeted him, "Welcome to the Rosa In Fiore. You may call me Madonna Solari. What brings you here today?"

"Fate brought me here," Kanon replied.

"Indeed," Solari answered, "So, see any woman you like? We have plenty to choose from."

She swept her hand in the air, gesturing all the women around the lobby. Each one, one after another, bowed in front of Kanon, showing a little cleavage while squeezing their breasts. Kanon took a look around the room, and one woman decided to approach him.

"Oh, you look like a man who could handle me..." she flirted as she got closer and closer... Kanon could feel her breast on his chest, even past his light armor behind his tunic, and while he felt good, he mostly felt uncomfortable.

"Ooh..." Solari smiled, "Grace seems to be taking a liking to you..."

"Come on," the woman whispered in Kanon's ear, "Why don't you let me show you a good time?"

Kanon tried to keep his cool composure, keeping his face emotionless, but a slight red blush flushed his face. He was so nervous; he had to turn away from the woman when her luscious soft lips brushed his ear.

"Um," Kanon stammered, "I-I c-came here for a-another woman."

"Aw, that's too bad" the woman pouted as she got off of him. She sighed a little, and then walked back to her spot.

"Oh," Solari sounded surprised, "You already know who you want?"

"Well," Kanon regained his composure, "I followed a woman here. She didn't dress like any of the other woman. She had a pink vest, with long, brown hair."

With that description, however cryptic it sounded, caused the woman around him to flood the room with their groans. Kanon didn't understand what was going on, but he could hear what some of the women said:

"Her!" "Dammit, not again!" "She's so damn popular!" "I hate her!"

The only woman in the lobby who didn't react like the others was Madonna Solari, who simply raised her hand to quiet the other woman.

"Stop it this instant! We have a customer!"

Her voice carried weight; everyone immediately quieted down. Even Kanon felt himself shudder a little.

Solari's voice resumed its normality as she continued talking while flipping through a book.

"Aw... Fiona Cavazza... She's real popular you know. You got good taste... and good timing!" Solari paused a second to confirm what she was reading. "She's free right now." With that, she called out to the stairs behind her.

"Fiona! Come down please!"

Kanon's eyes never left the stairs. As soon as a shoe was within sight, Kanon's eyes immediately looked for a face. The next thing to appear was a pair of breasts that stood out before the pink vest that held it in place appeared. Kanon looked up once more once the woman's face appeared.

As soon as it did, the woman, apparently named Fiona Cavazza, stared right at Kanon. Her eyes contacted with his eyes, and his eyes did the same to her. While Kanon didn't realize it, this meeting marked his place in destiny.

There was no escaping now. Kanon had a chance to change his fate. His destiny might as well be set in stone, for the second he decided to pursue this woman, his fate is already decided.


	3. Sequence 2 Hell of a Life

Sequence 2: Hell of a Life

Time stopped. Kanon couldn't take his eyes off of Fiora. Nor could she take hers off of him. Kanon gulped down his saliva, a physical metaphor of swallowing down his anxiety, and opened his mouth.

"Madonna..." He held there, but no other words came out.

Fiora shook her head, as if she snapped out of a trance. She merely shrugged her arm at him and said to Solari, "So you needed me?"

"Yes," the Madam replied, "This gentleman would like your services. Please show him a good time."

Kanon could overhear the other woman softly expressing their emotions towards him. What's with them? Were they... jealous? Of what?

Fiora took a good look at Kanon, and then after deeming him "worthy," motioned for him to follow her. "Come along, darling," she said, in a surprisingly seductive way, and walked up the same stairs that she came down from. Kanon joked that they were his "Stairway to Heaven" as Fiora looked nothing less than an angel. Her face blushed, but she turned away to hide it.

In a long, dimly lit hallway, Kanon quietly followed Fiora, who had been swaying her hips as she walked. Kanon tried his best not to stare at her rear, as he was raised to treat woman with respect, but she was so... open about showing off her body... that Kanon may have sneaked a peak at her, but he quickly looked away.

Eventually, Fiora stopped in front of a door unmarked "occupied," as opposed to all the other doors, and opened it with a key before proceeding to put the very same sign the other doors donned on it. Kanon still hasn't figured out what kind of a place this was, but the atmosphere made him felt... unsettling. Where was he?

The door led to a bedroom, which housed a couple of wooden dressers and pieces of fine art. However beautiful the art was, the main feature of the room, which drew attention from everything else, was a canopy bed draped with rose red curtains. The pillows sat there, with slight impressions in the dead center. Was the Rosa In Fiore a lodging of sorts? It certainly feels like one...

Fiora opened the curtains to the bed, fluffed up the pillows back to their natural state, and sat down. Her body sunk slightly into the mattress, indicating that it was nice and soft. Fiora patted her hand down on an empty spot next to her, then proceeded to rub it smoothly while using her other hand, specifically her finger, to draw Kanon in.

Kanon came closer, and Fiora laid back on the bed, smiling at him. She spread her body out, showing off her curvy figure, and waited for Kanon to take her. He didn't.

"What's going on?" Kanon asked. His words carried a hint of confusion in them that felt genuine. Fiora wondered if he was merely acting innocent, as if it was a fetish to him... or maybe he just plain oblivious to what was going on. She wanted to make sure.

"Don't you want me?" she asked, as blood flushed into her soft lips, turning them bright red. Kanon nervously scratched the back of his head, past his hood. How would he respond to that?

Fiora didn't hesitate for an answer. She got up off the bed, walked over to him, and embraced him closer than that woman, Grace, previously did. She lifted one leg over his, and rubbed against his chest. She felt some metal hidden under the tunic... A plate of armor? She didn't question it... she had shown plenty of soldiers a "good time" and he would be no exception.

She kissed him on the lips... it felt soft to Kanon, and it felt as if Kanon would become addicted to it. However, he regained his composure and retreated. He finally understood what was going on.

"Fiora..." Kanon whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Whatever you want to do..." she told him.

"No... Fiora, what are you doing... with your life?" Kanon's words struck her.

What was she doing with her life? She was a courtesan her whole life and no one ever asked her that... In fact, no one even CARED. She felt a knife stab into her, metaphorically of course, and felt a wave of emotion flooding her body, but she tried to brush that aside.

"What are you saying?" Fiora asked, "Come, we must hurry... unless you rather savor the moment..." She tried to drag Kanon into the bed, but he wouldn't budge.

"Fiora..." Kanon said softly, "Is this what you want to do with your life? Are you... happy?"

Kanon stared into her eyes as he awaited her response: They were filled with sadness... like a black hole, once you get sucked in, you couldn't get out. Kanon stared so long, he felt like could stare into her soul... and she knew it. However, she never turned away... There was something about Kanon's eyes as well that drew her in...

Fiora started tearing up. Was this really what she wanted to do with her life? Pleasuring men all over Europe within the walls of a dirty old building? She wanted more for her life. She wanted to be... happy. Realizing this, tears gushed from her eyes, running down her cheeks as she embraced Kanon. She didn't do it for his pleasure... but rather, she did it for herself.

Kanon said nothing. He embraced her as well, and used his white cape to cover her, shielding her, as if it were a wall, impervious to all.

He could hear her cries as she opened up to him: She told him that she hated working for Madonna Solari... that she hated working as a courtesan... that she hated being a nobody. She let it all out, crying on his armored chest. As much as she talked, Kanon never said a word... He simply held her as her emotions overwhelmed her.


	4. Sequence 3 Toss Up

Sequence 3 - Toss up

"Ah..." Solari greeted Kanon as he walked through the entrance, "Back again?"

Kanon said nothing, but smiled. Like he promised himself, he would visit where Fiora worked every day. Despite his work as an Assassin, Kanon ALWAYS made time for a visit. As usual, he took out a big bag of Florins, the currency here, and tossed it at the podium where Solari stood. She need not count it: Each and every time, they have been filled with the exact same amount of Florins. She grew to trust that he would not do anything to betray her.

Kanon met with Fiora a lot, but not for the purpose that others did. Rather than the pleasure of the flesh, Kanon visited for the sake of falling in love with Fiora. Fate had brought him to meet her, and Kanon decided that they were meant to be together.

Although Fiora had continued her usual duties at the Rosa In Fiore, she definitely changed: You could almost feel her positive aura, as if an angelic halo had engulfed her. She had become a lot more cheery, which is good for business... although Kanon didn't like that she was a courtesan, there was nary a thing he could do about it.

However, while Kanon became a regular customer, he was not exclusive to Fiora, so when Solari handed the Florins back, Kanon was surprised.

"I'm sorry Kanon," Solari politely stated, "But Fiore is not in today."

Kanon took his Florins and held it in his hands. Kanon had met with Fiora everyday... It felt weird NOT to see her. He questioned on her whereabouts.

"Ah, she and Lucia are escorting my brother Santino on a trip. They will be back shortly. In the meantime, we have a wide selection of other women to indulge in..."

Solari showcased the women that surrounded the lobby. They varied in size, looks, and hair color, but they all wore the same outfit and hair style. Fiora was like a breath of fresh air compare to these other girls... not that Kanon had any other woman mind you...

And he still wouldn't. He shook his head no, and respectfully declined. "Sorry, but only one woman for me."

Solari frowned slightly, and joked about his character. "A shame... man like you could get any woman he wanted, as much he wanted." She gazed at him, trying to get an accurate read on his age. "Are you sure? You're young... even if you indulged a little bit, you'll be able to bounce back for Fiora."

Kanon still declined. He never even partake in Fiora: All the time he spent with her was innocent and clean. He took her all over town, on a date, never ending with any form of sexual pleasure. In fact, they only kissed... albeit at an alarming rate, but that's beside the point.

Kanon walked out of the Rosa In Fiore and decided to kill some time. He looked for a nearby Pigeon Coop sitting on top of a building, and when he found one, he hastily ran up a building to get to it. Observers questioned him, specifically his sanity, but Kanon paid them no mind. He climbed and climbed and climbed... only stopping to look for a foot hold or something to grip on. The smooth texture of the wall was still new to him, but he still scaled the building with an elegant grace.

Once he reached the Pigeon Coop, he held out his hand and whistled for any pigeons to come out. One did indeed, with a piece of paper attached to it. As Kanon cooed with the bird, he took the message from it before releasing it back to its shelter. He read it to himself:

"Luigi Castrova: A restaurant cook who prepares the finest of feasts at the Grape Vine. However, for his enemies, he poisoned a deadly toxin to his meals, making it their last. He got our attention when he started poisoning any and all Assassins. See to it that he gets a taste of his own medicine."

A presence stood behind Kanon. He quickly sensed danger and reached for a trio of throwing knives. He tossed it at the person at the speed of a bullet, but it was still too slow. The person took out one of their own and deflected them in the air as if they were flies over his meal. The person then rushed towards Kanon in an attempt to get him, but Kanon quickly blocked the impact with his vambrace (that housed his Hidden Blade) and swept his foot at their, forcing them to trip and fall. He then stood over the body, with a Hidden Blade brandished at them.

Kanon smiled. "Still not gonna get me."

He withdrew his blade and offered a hand. The person took it, and got to their feet: It was a woman, with long, blonde hair (as opposed to Kanon's short, silver) with a slender figure. Her body was unique: She had enough armor to protect her vitals, but she also took some out to show some skin. A foolish oversight, Kanon knew, but what a sight to behold...

The woman pouted at him. "Oh... This isn't over yet!" She picked up the throwing knives and handed them back to Kanon.

"Sorry Crystal," he smiled, "But you'd have to get up pretty early to get me with that." She pouted once more, and mocked his presence.

"Aren't you supposed to be on a date?" She smirked when Kanon blushed. "Well, if you're too BUSY to do this, I can handle it." She reached for his contract.

Kanon kept it away from her. He refused to let her handle it, but he did ask for her assistance. Without even reading contents, she immediately agrees.

"Ok, where to?" she asked eagerly, waiting to stick her blade into something.

"Impatient as ever, I see," Kanon smirked, "We're going dine and dash."


	5. Sequence 4 Dinner Party

Sequence 4: Dinner Party

Like two white lightning bolts, Kanon and Crystal flashed across the rooftops of the city, with only Kanon's white hood and Crystal's red scarf the last thing anyone saw. Even the city guards who patrol the rooftops hardly got a look at them: As soon as they pulled out their crossbows, and the higher ranking men, rifles, Kanon and Crystal had already left the vicinity, like a ghost in the corner of your eye.

"So where are we going, exactly?" Crystal questioned as Kanon led the way. He didn't reply, much to her annoyance. "Hey! Can you hear me! I'm talking to you!"

Foolish, Kanon thought, for each moment she opened her mouth, her stamina to keep up diminished greatly. And it showed: She constantly huffed and puffed, trying to get any amount of air that she could, but it was futile: For each breath she took, she exhaled two. Luckily for her, they were nearby, but that didn't stop Kanon from teasing her.

"Come on," he shouted towards her despite his previous thoughts, "Am I going to have to leave you behind?" He stuck his tongue at her in mockery before sprinting even FASTER (than lightning apparently) towards his destination, with Crystal lagging behind. With the last of her strength, she dashed forward to meet with Kanon. And caught up to him, she did... she even went past him.

Too bad he stopped already. At the end of the line of rooftops, Kanon stood at the very edge, waiting for Crystal to catch up. When she did, she smiled with triumphant joy, only to nearly run OFF the rooftop. Anticipating this, Kanon snapped his arm to pull at the very end of her scarf that rested on her back, preventing her fall. When she realized what was happening, she flailed her arms around, as if she tried to fly away.

"You're not a bird you know," Kanon smirked as she exhausted her energy thrashing her arms around. Kanon pulled her back gently until she had a good hold of the roof. "Take five."

Crystal replied, but her exhaustion caused her breathe heavily, to the point where Kanon could only hear her speak syllables at a time. It sounded like she said, "I'm not tired... I can go on."

"Idiot, you need to rest," Kanon replied with a forceful tone. However, his next sentence came off a little bit softer, with a smidge of sympathy: "I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Crystal blushed slightly, her face a ripe tomato. She looked up at Kanon, who turned away, offering this as his excuse for his caring remark: "I wouldn't want you to jeopardize the missions... that's all..." he paused to scratch his cheek, "I mean, he already got a few of us already..."

Crystal knew that was a hollow excuse, but she didn't care. She was glad that Kanon cared about her. It made her feel... good, on the inside. She got up post-haste, smiling; something about him worrying about her flood her body with adrenaline, causing her to be ready for anything.

Kanon didn't expect her to be ready for a while, as he was still in the middle of his surveillance of the restaurant; He doesn't even know what Luigi even looked like: He knew that he was a cook, but with a restaurant this big, it wouldn't be surprising to hear that there's more than one cook. The only other thing he knew about Luigi is that he has it out for any Assassins...

NO. Kanon instantly frowned. HELL NO. Using Crystal as bait was a horrible idea. How could have he came up with that? He cared about her deeply... He was ashamed to even think about that plan in the first place... But what can he do? It would be the perfect plan... The Three Tenants of the Creed played in his mind:

1. Stay your blade away from the flesh of the innocent. That meant no killing civilians. If Kanon knew not who his target is, then how would he kill him and only him?

2. Hide in plain sight. What would be a better place for Crystal to hide than in the middle of a crowded restaurant?

3. NEVER compromise the brotherhood. If Luigi is killing off Assassins that would mean that he knows that they exist. Therefore, he would know the markings of them, like the signature white hood, or the missing finger. Information like that is DEADLY to the Assassins...

Both Kanon and Crystal had their ring fingers cut off, but because Kanon wore gloves along with his vambrace, one would rarely see it. But Crystal... Crystal wore hers openly. Luigi would see it, slip some poison in her food, and that's all she wrote. Kanon couldn't risk it...

"I know what you're thinking..." Crystal said out of nowhere. Kanon turned his attention towards her, more specifically to the white piece of paper in her hand. Kanon quickly looked around in his clothes: The contract was no longer contained in his pouch. Kanon cursed for his blunder: He was too distracted by his thoughts to have noticed her this time... or perhaps she got better? She never deflected THREE throwing knives before...

But never mind about that... if she had the contract, and she knew what he was thinking, then does that mean...?

"Don't worry," she assured, "I'm okay with the plan. I won't consume anything."

"It's not like that," Kanon replied, "It's too dangerous. Go fetch Thomas-"

"I can do it!" Crystal interrupted, much to Kanon's surprise. Her eyes met with his... Strength and determination lied in them. Digging a bit deeper, Kanon could swore that he saw fire in them. With no other plan, Kanon agrees, albeit reluctantly. They decided on a plan.

...

Crystal walked towards the podium where the maitre d' awaits. She is greeted by a friendly smile, and is seated accordingly. Obviously, he wasn't the cook, and is therefore not the chef. But was he an accomplice? When the man returned, he placed a glass of water on her table along with a menu. Crystal ordered her meal like a regular customer, but never once took a sip of her beverage. The maitre d' left her, causing Kanon to leave as well, tailing him via the rooftop.

Kanon followed him all the way into the kitchen, looking through tiny windows as he moved. Like he suspected, there were chefs all over the place, with no clear distinction between them. However, rather than the man telling the first cook he saw to prepare the meal, he ran all the way to the back to talk to a man as big as a mountain. Many chefs questioned what he was doing, but they decided that as long as it didn't concern them, they returned to work.

The maitre d' spoke to huge chef in the back, and Kanon quickly dropped down to the back of the restaurant, and overheard their conversation by putting his ear to the door.

"Luigi, there's a woman out there who's... missing a finger."

"Ah..." the big burly man replied, "Excellent. Thank you for this."

"What are you planning to do to this one?"

"Hm... never had a woman Assassin before... is she beautiful?"

"Gorgeous."

"Well then, she likes to stick her blade into people, I will stick something else. Let's leave it at that."

Yes, Kanon thought, leave it at that, as he did not need to hear more. He got his target, he got his partner in crime, and after hearing what he intends to do to Crystal, he got out his blade.

The man turned to return to his post when he hears a knock on the door to the outside.

"Get it," the chef told him, "That might be our shipment." The man nodded, and opened the door. He saw no one. Then... he didn't see anything. Kanon snatched the man away as soon as he opened the door, and stabbed him in the chest, through the heart, with his Hidden Blade. Blood gushed out of him like a bubbly red fountain, but his death came quickly.

"Like oil, blood can spill onto one finger, which can spoil the entire hand. Rest in peace."

With that, Kanon stepped into the kitchen, and silently crouched and walked, in order to minimize noise, towards the chef. The man seemed to be not paying attention to him. Kanon leapt into the air when he was within range, sticking his Hidden Blade at the man, but the chef quickly dodged to the side, using one of his hands to grip Kanon's neck.

"Assassin!" he bellowed, alerting the other chefs. They got whatever sharp object they could find, which wasn't hard in a kitchen, and held it defensively. "Nice try," the chef continued, "But you weren't the first to try to kill me! Nor will you be the last!"

The chef slammed Kanon into the counter, breaking it into pieces, before slamming him into the ground. The armor bluntly stood against the attack, but the force of the impact still hurt Kanon himself, causing him to groan in pain. The chef didn't let up: He stomped his two feet on Kanon's left arm (with the Hidden Blade) and chest, his girth too heavy to push away.

"Am I correct to assume that the woman out there is your partner? Or even... your wife?" the man wondered. "The poison I use isn't quick: It slowly kills the person over the course of 6 hours. She will be alive when I... I mean..." he looked at the other chefs, "When WE have our way with her! And you're going to watch every single second of it..."

"MONSTER!" Kanon screamed in anger as he tried to get up, but the force of the man's foot on his chest shortened his breath. He stomped on it more and more, until Kanon started coughing out blood. The chef then picked up the physically drained, limp body, and tossed him in the storage room, knocking over various spice bottles and utensils.

Kanon summoned just enough strength to get up, but the door was slammed in front of his face, with a metal clank that confirmed that it was locked. Kanon pounded at the door as hard as he could, but to no avail. He worried less and less about himself, and more and more about Crystal, who was sitting all alone, oblivious to what's going on.


	6. Sequence 5 Wine, dine and dash

Sequence 5: Wine, Dine, and Dash.

"ARGH!" Kanon screamed at the top of his lungs as he pounded on the door, bruising his knuckles in the process. That didn't stop him; either he didn't notice the pain, or he just didn't care: Crystal was in danger, and that's all that mattered. It wasn't supposed to be like this: Kanon was supposed to dispatch the chef WAY before anything were to happen. She was a rookie at this... He was supposed to protect her...

This angered Kanon even more. His eyes bred a bonfire, now intent of breaking the door down. He punched at it again and again, each hit fiercer than the last. Slowly, however, it started to dawn on him that he wasn't getting anywhere, and tears developed in his eyes. His strength drained quickly, like holes in the bottom of a vase. He broke down, crying in front of the door, as red liquid dripped from his bloodied hands.

Kanon was shrouded in darkness... He knew he had to fight... He had to help Crystal... But what can he do? The door was locked, and they must've barricaded it with something heavy as it never gave way. Kanon felt hopeless... He thought about Fiora...

Had his skills diminished since meeting her? He carried his duties as usual, but his efficiency had dropped from its previous status... But never like this. Things never went this bad. Sure, in his other contracts, maybe he broke stealth due to an unattended tree branch that lay in front of him, or maybe he accidentally let the target escape the area, but at least he always got his target in the end. And he never let anyone in danger.

Maybe that's why he didn't want Crystal to be the decoy? Maybe he knew that something could've gone wrong... Every contract he took so far has... but Thomas could at least handle himself... Crystal was too new... No... Maybe he didn't want Crystal to take part in this operation is because he knew he... couldn't protect her.

This thought sunk Kanon like a battleship, making him feel even worse than before. He stared at the ground for what seemed to be an eternity with empty eyes. He felt hollow... He felt defeated...

No... No more... Kanon stood up. No... No more crying. He swore to protect Crystal, and he be damned if he couldn't keep it. He took out his blade, the Sword of Rain, or rather, the Sword of Bloody Rain, its full name, and held it in his right hand sideways.

His sword style was unorthodox, as most people would use two hands to wield such an unsightly blade, but it was a long piece of metal curved like a scimitar, making it comfortable to hold with one hand sideways. It was perfect for slashing, which in a sword fight can enable him to take on more targets. After all, who'd sit there and wait for an enemy to finish stabbing someone? In chess, one would sacrifice one of their own to take down someone stronger. Slashing is way faster than stabbing: One slash can be fatal, whereas stabbing requires a hit to a vital organ.

Kanon kept it ready, because he intends to rush straight into the kitchen, and murder everyone. But first, he had to get there: The door was still locked, and still barricaded. While one would have to be of superhuman strength to knock it down, Kanon thought of a smarter way.

First, he brandished his Hidden Blade, and looked at the door, specifically at the side, looking for the hinges. Once he found them on his left, he stabbed the heart of it, breaking the metal in half. He did the same to the other two hinges, which allowed the door to be free of its "one way" restriction: If he couldn't open the door by pushing it, then why not pull it? He pulled the door away from him, and kicked down the pile of boxes that stood in his way. He leapt out, Sword at the ready, and awaited his cue.

"What the hell!" "How'd he get out!" "Why are you just standing there! Kill him!" "Yes, cut him into pieces and feed it to that bitch!"

Kanon didn't take the offense; He knew that they wanted to goad him into attacking first. He waited for them to strike first; a good defense is a good offense. He merely taunted them.

"What are you waiting for? Come get me!"

The chefs, with smaller weapons than Kanon, took the bait to strike first. Two of them decided to strike at once with cleavers, but Kanon swiftly dodged to his right, slashing the one who tried to stab him with a cut to the stomach. The other tried to get at his head, but Kanon followed up his slash to a stab into the neck. That's all she wrote for those two.

The other chefs stood by. Seeing as how quickly Kanon dispatched two of them, they were skeptic about fighting him, especially when he was covered in their blood. His Assassin White tunic was splashed with a dark, crimson red. He looked like a demon.

Kanon took this hesitation for his offense: He used his Sword to slash the open chef, and then stabbed the second chef, leaving his blade inside. For his next combo, he stabbed his Hidden Blade into the abdomen of one man, slashed the next's throat, and as the last of the chefs ran for his life, Kanon followed it up with a carefully, well placed, shot from his Hidden Gun. The chefs were all dispatched in less than a minute.

Kanon closed his eyes and held his right hand in the air... praying for them all at once. "You served one man when you should've served the people. May you rest in peace."

Kanon opened his eyes, now intent on killing Luigi. He ran for the door, picking up his blade from one of the many corpses that littered the kitchen, commenting that it was no longer "sanitary." He ran into the restaurant portion of the building, where several waiters and civilians await. They were scared, but not of the bloodied man wielding a blade... No, they were scared BEFORE he even walked into the room.

Luigi held Crystal in his arms. She was unconscious, but she looked like she was merely knocked out rather than taking any poisons. While Luigi was a mountain of a man, the patrons had other reasons to fear him: His rifle that, while it may only fire one shot at a time, was still deadly. Kanon was afraid, as his armor couldn't even hope of stopping the bullet from penetrating his flesh, but he couldn't let up.

"Drop her," Kanon demanded, "And your death may be swift."

Luigi laughed. "Do you not see this gun in my hand? I control this situation, NOT YOU!" He pointed the gun at Kanon, and with his other, fondled with Crystal. "Ah... she's a nice one..."

Kanon instinctively brandished his Hidden Blade upon seeing that. Beauty and the beast this was not. Luigi just laughed, pointing his gun at him. "Angry? Come at me then!"

Kanon gritted his teeth in anger. The other patrons looked at Kanon, and felt his plight: His wife, at least, they assumed she was, was in danger, and there was nothing he could do about it, and they knew Kanon was powerless. But then, they saw him walking towards Luigi.

"Stop it!" "Don't be a fool!" "He'll kill you!"

Kanon heard none of it. He continued walking towards Luigi, whose smile was sick and twisted, like his true self. He (Luigi) laughed wholeheartedly, which must've been cold, as his laugh was. "I got you now you son of a bitch..." He fired the gun.

"Fate won't see me die..." Kanon whispered as he walked towards the bullet, "Guide thy hand to shield one's self in the name of justice. Let thou grace thee with control over the blade."

Kanon couldn't dodge the bullet, nor could he take a hit, so he did the next best thing: He slashed the bullet in the air with his Hidden Blade. Well, maybe slashed wasn't the right word, as it only deflected the ball of metal into the wall, but people were too amazed by his feat that they did not say a word. Luigi could.

"What! Impossible!" With only one shot in the chamber, Luigi dropped his gun, and then the woman, to hold up his hands to surrender. "No no no no no no no! Don't kill me! Please!"

Begging was useless. Kanon heard his pleading cries, but he didn't care. Kanon kept walking towards Luigi, taking what could've been hours and hours, until he finally approached him. Luigi was crying for his life, but Kanon shrugged it off. He stabbed his right hand.

"For the men you poisoned. They suffered a horrible death." He repeated the same motion with Luigi's left. "For possessing knowledge of the Assassins: He who increases knowledge, increases sorrow." He finally ends the man's life by stabbing him in the heart. Kanon wasn't evil... He didn't want Luigi to suffer long, however much Kanon felt he deserved it.

"This... is for Crystal." Luigi's eyes, wide open, allowed Kanon to see the fear dwelling inside of him. The man was afraid to die, trying to run as fast as he could from death. Kanon closed his eyes... while angry, he must respect the Creed, and that meant a proper guidance to Death, despite past emotions. Kanon cradled the man as he guided him through:

"Do not run from the darkness. Embrace it, for you must accept your wrongdoings before you can be saved. Rest in peace."

With that, Kanon got up, leaving Luigi's body perfectly still. Kanon felt... unnaturally calm. The man who could've killed, or worse, defiled Crystal, and yet Kanon sent him off in peace. Forgive and forget, he thought to himself, as he looked around.

The other civilians looked at him, saying not a word. They merely watched as he picked up Crystal's body and left the restaurant.

As he scaled the rooftops to avoid being seen by any other people, Crystal awoke in his arms. She looked at her savior, embarrassed that he was carrying her home. Kanon noticed her struggling in his arms. "It's ok... I got you."

Crystal was still a bit groggy, so she quickly allowed Kanon to carry her. However, Kanon had to ask her something. "Yeah, what is it?"

Kanon spoke of genuine concern. "Were you... scared? Things could've been a lot worse you know."

Crystal simply smiled at him. "No... I wasn't scared because... because... because I knew you would rescue me." Her eyes met his surprise, but she said no more; she simply fell asleep in his arms, snuggling in his chest. He said nothing as well... He walked on the rooftops under the setting sun, embracing her a little tighter.


	7. Sequence 6 Moonlit Stroll

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 6: Moonlit Stroll

[Commencing memory...]

The blood had dried from Kanon's clothes; they would have to be replaced. But thankfully, that was all that needed to be replaced; Kanon still haven't gotten over what happened back at the Grape Vine. For a lack of a better expression, she was almost...

He stopped there. What's done is done, he told himself, as he carried her home. No point worrying about it now. After all, didn't things work out in the end? Kanon smiled under the melancholy of the moon: While the light brightened up the night, it still gave a hint of sadness in its dark, luminous glow.

That's how he felt right now: Happy that things worked out, but sad that it almost didn't. Kanon wasn't exactly emotionally stable as an Assassin: He was quite prone to bouts of depression, giving in to his emotions as easy as the wind blows. If he wasn't born into the Order, he would've never have been selected. As elegant as his swordsmanship is, or how sharp as his aim was, they didn't matter at all if he couldn't bring himself together to overcome his troubles.

He recalled seeing the fire in Crystal's eyes when she was dead set on their plan... He reminisced his earlier days, where he was eager to fight. Those days aren't gone, he thought, but they don't come as often as they should. Being an Assassin is hard work, with only the thrill coming from the kill...

Kanon looked down at the people below: A good amount of them were still up at this hour, done with their mundane tasks, taking in the quiet of the evening. Kanon had been an Assassin all his life, always at the beck and call of his Master... While each and every day was exciting, he wondered how life would be if he wasn't an Assassin...

He thought it through (after all, he still had a way to go to Crystal's lodging) on the way there: How he could've become educated, how he could've learned a trade skill, settling down with Fiora Cavazza... All these thoughts filled his mind. It wasn't as if Kanon hated being an Assassin... No, far from it; it's just a what-if question he had. Kanon enjoyed taking down the evils of the world, staining his blade with blood, and he would never give that up.

But he wondered about the other Assassins... Many of them were born into the Order like he was, but none shared his thoughts. Had any other thought about living a different life? Had any other wanted to abandon the Order? Had Crystal?

Kanon gazed at her face. She looked... beautiful... under the moonlight. He brushed a few strands of golden blonde hair away from her eyes, careful to not disturb her peaceful slumber, and stared at her. It was like a painting to Kanon. Her smooth skin... her soft lips... He wanted... he wanted to kiss her...

But he held his tongue, literally. He had to turn away, towards the moon. All this time, he had been faithful to Fiora... Had the moon turned his emotions like it does the tides? No... That's no excuse... he felt the same way during the day... but then... this feeling... could it be... no... it can't be... can it?

Her home drew near. Kanon praised his luck that it would, as he was too conflicted by his emotions to dwell on the matter any longer. Kanon walked over to her bedroom window, and picked the lock as he's done so many times. Opening it, Kanon saw nothing but darkness... As well as it should, as the sole occupant was in his hands. Kanon made his way into her bed; He lifted up her covers, and placed Crystal under it. He tucked her in, leaving her in her old clothes, and turned to walk away.

But it's never as easy as that; Crystal woke up.

"Kanon?" Her eyes were open, but had no hint of slumber in them. Had she been awake the whole time?

"You should get some sleep..." Kanon told her, worried that she might strain herself. She may have fire in her heart, but her body couldn't take the heat.

"So should you," she replied, "You must be tired after carrying me all the way back."

"I am, so I will be returning home." Kanon moved towards the window, but he felt something tug at his sleeves.

"If you're tired..." she said quietly, "You can stay here for the night."

"You don't have any room," Kanon curiously wondered.

"Then allow me to take care of that," she replied, as she opened her covers, inviting him in. She proceeded to take off her armor, tossing the bulky chest places on the floor. She had nothing on but her Assassin's outfit, but without the armor, they barely held up. Perhaps she didn't want them to... "See? Plenty of room."

Kanon didn't speak. His mouth moved, but no words came out. His heart was beating too fast for him to catch his breath. His mind was in shambles... What was going on? Well, obviously, he knew the answer to that, but what he didn't know the answer to was: what's he going to do now?

Crystal got up from her bed, with her baggy Assassin outfit hanging off her body. Due to the "modifications" to her outfit, Kanon could see that she wore some pretty modest underwear, so it's not like she planned for this, but going on the spur of the moment. She walked up to Kanon, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her face met with his... He could feel her breath... Her lips came in contact...

Kanon broke away, trying to calm his beating heart. It thumped against his chest rapidly, causing Kanon to lose his breath. Crystal's eyes carried the burden of insecurity.

"I... I have to go now." Without another word from either of them, Kanon jumped from the window and landed on the closest rooftop he could jump to, running as fast as he could. She tried to stop Kanon, but he was already gone. Crystal slumped to her bed, tears running down her face. She buried her face onto her pillow, as if she was trying to stop the water like a broken pipe. It didn't.

Kanon kept running. He didn't think, nor did he feel. What was he running from? Confrontation? His feelings? The moon?

Tears ran down his eyes as well... It felt cold under the breeze of the night, like his heart. But none of that matter to Kanon.

He simply kept running.


	8. Sequence 7 The Morning After

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 7: The Morning After

[Commencing memory...]

The sun blinded Kanon, penetrating through his eyelids. From his resting spot, which happened to be the cozy rooftop of a nearby marketplace, Kanon could see where the sun had struck: from high into the sky. Kanon deduced that it was probably noon, seeing as the marketplace was hustling and bustling, but Kanon felt out of place: Why was he here?

He went in his mind, going back to what happened the previous night, but he only managed to make put bits and pieces of what happened: He didn't go home that night because he decided to sleep on the roof seeing as how late it was and tired he felt from his escape. He had remembered what happened in Crystal's home, which explained why he had been running, but he didn't remember what was he running from...

What was it? Why did he run off like that? She wanted to make love to him... so maybe he was faithful to Fiora? No... Something told him that it didn't sit right to him. He didn't leave because he was faithful to Fiora... No, he was running from something... but he could not for the life of him remember what it was.

Kanon looked at the sun as much as he did the moon, and tried to justify in not dwelling on the past: The moon was there for people to think about their day, whether or not it was a good one, whether or not things could've gone better, and whether or not they made the right choices in the end. The sun, on the other hand, was there to remind people that it was a new day, and that the past is just that: the past, as all that happened is already done. Whatever Kanon had been running from that night, he succeeded in getting away, and decided to pursue the matter no more...

Kanon jumped down from the roof, killing time by browsing through some of the people's various good: Tailors had hung their blankets like paintings, farmers had set up colorful displays of fruit to appeal to the eye (as well as the nose, as they filled the air with a sweet aroma), and blacksmiths had cleaned their wares so nice that it was almost a crime to take them out in the sun.

Kanon decided to buy a piece of pita bread filled with delicious meat and vegetables, all steamed to perfection, before heading out. He wanted to check to see if Fiora had returned, despite only a day passing, and he wanted to know now. However, one must regain their energy before they can roam the rooftops, so Kanon ate his pita bread under the sun, enjoying the calm atmosphere of the peaceful city.

After washing down his meal with a nice glass of cool water, Kanon tossed the glass away before taking off to the rooftops. Right as he was about to dart away in the speed of light, something caught his eye: Several carriages roaming through the city. The carriages were finely crafted with the most exquisite of materials, and the horses that pulled them were decked out in armor that could stop a bullet dead in its tracks.

A regular person would not need this, Kanon thought to himself, as he found a hiding spot: He blended into a rooftop garden that was covered in a sheet of cloth, hoping not only to remain hidden, but to look outside, spying on this visitor. With Kanon's exceptionally keen eyes, he could make out a rugged looking man with facial hair on his lip and chin, and instantly knew who he was.

"Cesare Borgia..." he growled to himself, as he gritted his teeth in anger. Cesare Borgia was the son of Rodrigo Borgia, who was a very powerful man in this city: Not only was he a major political leader, but he was also one of the strongest leaders of the sworn enemies of the Assassins: Templars.

Despite his feeling of the man, Kanon knew that he could not take down Cesare, and stayed his blade. But the sight of Cesare made Kanon sick, so he vanished from his hiding spot, leaving nothing to expose his presence.

...

Despite the dark of the night, the Rosa In Fiore was within his sights, but Kanon didn't need to check that Fiora was there, as she was also in his field of vision: In the midst of the crowd, he spots her walking towards the Rosa In Fiore. Kanon had seen Fiora enough to know what she looked liked, so even in a crowd of a thousand individuals, Kanon would automatically know where she was just by looking.

Kanon could've just walked through the front door, but he decided to change things up a bit: He knew where her room was in the building, and seeing that she just got back from her trip, she was almost certain to have no customers. With that in mind, Kanon jumped from his rooftop to the Rosa In Fiore, and scaled the wall, moving side to side.

It was much harder than Kanon thought, as he was constantly distracted by the moan and groans of the other occupants in the building. He heard many things, from questions on what the customers liked, to the derogatory name calling during the performance. Kanon never treated Fiora like that, but he had to wonder if she was treated this way by other people... Had they called her such disgraceful names? Those men should be lucky to even have seen an angel like her, much less experience her pleasure...

Kanon found the window still of the room where Fiora stayed, and brought himself up to enter it. Fiora had just entered the room herself, locking the door behind her. With her back turned, if only for a moment, Kanon lock picked the window with his Hidden Blade and opened it, much to Fiora's surprised.

"Who goes there?" she asked out loud, as she never expected someone to break in.

"It is me," Kanon replied, as he made his way to her. Though she recognized his voice, she turned away, as if she didn't want to see him. For what reason would she need to do this?

"No! Kanon," she begged, "Please, just leave..."

She tried to keep her face away from Kanon, but he felt that something was wrong, so he persisted on investigating. She tried to push him away, but it was futile, as Kanon was much stronger than her. He finally got a look at her face, but it wasn't as pretty as it was before: Fiora was covered in small, but noticeable bruises. Her soft lips and red blush did nothing to draw the attention of those blue, unsightly marks.

"Fiora, what happened?"

"It was Santino."

"Solari's brother?" he inquired. He thought about what he looked like... While he had seen him a couple of times, he never met him before, but now would be a good time to... introduce himself.

"No!" she shouted, as if she knew exactly what Kanon would do (which wasn't too hard to assume). "Please, don't do anything! If anything happens to Santino, then Madonna Solari will accuse me and kick me out!" Tears welled in her eyes, dripping onto the floor when she lowered her head to whisper to Kanon "I would have nothing left..."

Kanon held her tight, protecting her in her moment of weakness. She sobbed quietly on his chest, but Kanon put his hand on her back, assuring her that everything will be already. "You have me..." he started, "If you don't want me to attack with Santino, then I will not. Anything for you." His words sincere, Fiora held him tighter, feeling safe in his arms.

They spent the night together, as the sky was too dark to navigate the rooftops well, so Kanon and Fiora enjoyed each other's company... unsexually of course. They merely talked about what happened: Santino took Lucia and Fiora out on a trip, but his side business was crumbling as he went away, so he took his anger out on them both violently and invasively: He had done things to them that other customers weren't allowed to do unless the woman allows them to, but seeing as how Santino was their boss, as well as a man twice as strong as the two ladies combined, he had his way with them.

Kanon felt a chill run down his spine... Something about hearing of Fiora's "rape" seemed to have stimulated his sexual desire. Kanon never partook in Fiora, but hearing about other men doing it seemed to have aroused him. Luckily, Kanon could suppress his sexual urges, but he felt as if Fiora could tell that he wanted her... so bad.

As the night dragged on, Fiora finally took her rest, preparing for the next day. But Kanon didn't... He hasn't gotten over what happened to Fiora's beautiful face, and was determined to even the score. A soft knock rapped on her window: Anyone asleep would not hear it, but Kanon could, and he did. He opened the window, and climbed to the roof.

On top of the Rosa In Fiore stood two men dressed in white: One was Kanon, the other was an Assassin of similar clothing, although he wore less armor than Kanon, designating his smaller rank, and carried less weapons. But the main thing that separated the two besides the other's short, black hair, was the man's white cloth over his eyes: He was blind.

"Thomas?" Kanon asked, as he stared into the blindfold of the young apprentice (despite the fact that Kanon was one as well; he's just a higher rank), "Why are you here?"

"Crystal said you called for me," he replied as he followed Kanon's subtle movements: Every time Kanon nod slightly, twirled his fingers, or shifted his weight towards one of his legs, Thomas instantly followed it with his eyes... so to speak.

"Well this is no good... no good at all..." Kanon was slightly irritated: While he had send for Crystal, he neglected the fact that she might've been angry with him, which was confirmed by Thomas, who had stated that as a personal favor, that he takes her place.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"No," Kanon held back his irritation, "It's nothing. Let's get down to business: A man by the name of Santino had hurt one of my allies. I need you to… rough him up a little bit. No kills, no threats: Let him believe what he wants to believe about what happening to him, and then leave without a word."

Thomas had a slight hint of confusion on his face (albeit being half obscured by his cloth). "Hm? What would that do?"

"He just needs to be taught a lesson," Kanon replied, not wanting to say what his true intentions were, "That's all" Thomas gave him a nod, but before he set out to find this Santino, Kanon had to ask him something. "Are you sure you'll be alright? How would you find Santino without knowing his face?"

Thomas just smiled. "One needs not eyesight to live through life. Don't worry, I'll find him." With that, he leaped off the roof, not even caring where he would land, as he was confident in his abilities as an Assassin. With that in mind, Kanon returned to the bed where Fiora slept, and cuddled up next to her.


	9. Sequence 8 Consequences for Our Action

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 8: Consequences for Our Actions

[Commencing memory...]

"Well, aren't you just beaming?" Kanon asked as he saw the smile on Fiora's face, which has healed quite nicely over the last few days. Thomas surprisingly managed to track down Santino in the middle of the night at the Rosa In Fiore and... Well... roughed him up a bit. He had snuck in the building after meeting Kanon and using his brain instead of his eyes, found the right room where Santino was located. Thomas didn't do anything rash, like giving him a black eye or threatening him with a blade, but Santino would soon not forget what happened.

But apparently Fiora could, as even though small marks are still left behind on her face, she forgot all about them when she was treated to a new customer. "He's so charming," she mentioned to Kanon, "And funny."

"Well," Kanon smirked, "Maybe you should introduce me to this... mystery man." Kanon didn't know the name of this "charming" gentleman, but Fiora was getting too interested in him. She assured Kanon that he was not to take her away from Kanon, but Kanon has his doubts... Any man would.

After a nice candlelit pasta dinner in one of the finest restaurants in town,, Kanon offered to walk Fiora home, or rather the Rose In Fiore, like a gentleman. However, a fleeting white blur blazing through the rooftops caught Kanon's attention, and he immediately had to go.

"Sorry, Fiora," he apologized, "But I must take my leave."

"What? Where are you going?" she shouted, but Kanon didn't reply: He had already scaled the closest building next to him and ran up into the rooftop. Fiora stood there in astonishment at how agile Kanon was, but she wondered in the back of her head what would possess Kanon to do such a thing. She shrugged it off, returning home all alone in the middle of the night. Even worse, it looked like rain was coming, and Kanon wasn't there to offer his white hoodie.

Kanon eventually caught up to the white blur after running at it for a good five minutes: It was Thomas, who had been instructed by Kanon that should he be... occupied... that Thomas was to discreetly get his attention and run to somewhere it'd be safe to meet. Thomas followed his instructions to the letter, and now he must tell Kanon some distressing news.

"Kanon," he started, looking at him in the eyes past his blindfold, "Cesare Borgia has been spotted in this city." Kanon could see Thomas's eyebrows frown and his teeth gritting: He knew the significance of the man. However, Kanon had to bring him down to Earth.

"I know," he replied, "But there's nothing we can do for now. We shall await our orders and proceed as necessary."

"What?" Thomas asked... or more like shouted... "We're just going to let him go? Why not attack him now? Why wait for orders?"

Kanon could see the anger that started to rise inside of Thomas. As good as he is with a blade, Kanon knew that his mind wasn't as sharp as it could be when it comes to unintended consequences.

"Let me tell you a story of about a man named Altair Ibn-La'Ahad. He reached the rank of Master Assassin by age 25, which is still unheard of to this very day! However, his arrogance nearly caused the Assassins their downfall: Once, during the third Crusade, he was sent on a mission by Al Mualim, the Grand Master, to recover an artifact, but a man by the name of Robert de Sable had appeared in front of Altair in order to intercept the artifact for himself.

"Seeing a hated enemy in front of him, as we do with Cesare, Altair became reckless: He tried to assassinate Robert de Sable, thinking he could take him down, risking his mission, the life of his comrades, and his own to do so, but he did not succeed."

"What happened next?" Thomas wondered, interested in the story as it relates to their predicament.

Kanon continued, "The two companions who went with Altair suffered greatly: Malik had lost his arm, and Kadar his life. Sure, the mission was accomplished, as Malik had recovered the artifact, but things didn't end there: The biggest fallout of their mission was that Robert de Sable led an assault on the Assassin's home in Masyaf, claiming many lives, Assassins and civilians alike."

"Then what?"

"Altair saved the day: He had sneaked behind the enemy, unleashed a wave of felled tree logs, and almost singlehandedly saved the Order of Masyaf. However, because his actions caused the attack in the first place, Al Mualim deemed Altair a traitor, and stabbed him in the stomach."

"Wow..." Thomas said softly, taking in the story: A man of great promise makes one mistake and losses almost everything. Thomas thought about this man, Altair, and his macabre demise.

"You see, Thomas," Kanon spoke, "We must not be reckless. We are not animals: We must think before we act, and act as we think. Above all, we must remember that nothing is true..."

"Everything is permitted." Thomas finished. Kanon smiled at Thomas for knowing the Creed, and although Thomas couldn't see it, he felt a positive aura around him. However, he still told Kanon that Cesare was in this city for something, and that he should check it out.

"Good idea," Kanon expressed as Thomas left to go gather information. Thomas's lack of eyesight seemed to not affect him at all, as he could still jump from rooftop to rooftop without any form of hesitation at all. Impressive, Kanon thought, as Thomas even add a little flourish to his jumps, such as back flips and somersaults.

As Thomas disappeared from his sight, Kanon looked around the city as the skies were unusually dark. A few drops of water fell from the sky... then a bucket's worth... then it started pouring: It was raining. Kanon held up his hands, trying to get a feel for the water.

Kanon found the rain to be quite a nice change of pace: The city was always sunny during the day and calm during the night. But one little change to the routine, such as the rain, changed everything: People were now running around, trying to hold their belongings close to their chest to shield it from the rain. Seeing some of the people below him scatter toward shelter made him smile on the inside: It's just rain, he thought, it won't bite.

As if the gods were mocking him, a loud clap of thunder shook the whole below, with a bright flash of lighting accompanying it. However, Kanon just mocked the gods back.

"So that's what I look like," he smiled, referring back to when he moves at such a fast pace that he "flashed" like lightning. He decided to take shelter as well: Even though the rain was harmless in itself, Kanon can't afford to be sick considering his occupation. With that, he took his leave, but a white flash appeared in front of him once more: Thomas had returned.

"Kanon," he sounded worried, "I bear bad news."

"What is it?" Kanon asked, wondering what it could be.

"I saw Cesare leaving the Rosa In Fiore."

"And what does this concern me?"

"He left with Fiore."

Kanon couldn't hide his surprise, but knowing her occupation, he figured that he shouldn't overreact. "She is a courtesan," he rationalized, "That's her job. It would surprise me not that she left with a man."

Thomas's face looked grim, "She looked sad to leave."

"As any woman would, had they been forced to be with Cesare," Kanon joked. Thomas's face still didn't budge.

"Something doesn't feel right," Thomas expressed his concern, "Madonna Solari and her brother Santino were surrounded by Cesare's men. They had armor on and weapons drawn."

"Are you sure I can trust your eyes?" Kanon asked, finding the situation to be interesting, especially since it concerns Cesare, but since Thomas was blind...

"I'm sure of it," Thomas remarked as he took out a small knife and held it to his eyes, "If you don't, I'd gouge them out myself." He seemed intent on his information, so Kanon decided to follow through.

"Alright then," he asked, "Gather Crystal and meet me outside the Rosa In Fiore in 5." Thomas nodded, understanding the plan, and set off. Kanon growled at the presence of Cesare, but had he just wanted to escort Fiora, he wouldn't need that any men... unless he was into group service... No... If that was the case, they wouldn't need weapons nor armor... Something was up, and Kanon was determined to find out what's going on.


	10. Sequence 9 Bloody Rain

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 9: Bloody Rain

[Commencing memory in progress...]

The rain went from a downpour into a "oh my God, the sky is falling:" The clouds must've been drained of all their rain by now, and yet it seemed to never let up. Perhaps the rain had too much w[h]ine? A corny joke, I assure you that I'm aware of that, but with the rain gunning for the ground so hard, it's hard to think.

That's how Crystal felt, as she stood in front of Kanon and Thomas, with her eyes staring down to the ground. She still hasn't gotten over what happened with Kanon, nor could she look at him. She simply stared at the ground without a soul, just listening to the plan and nothing more.

"I'm afraid that her mood will affect her performance," Kanon expressed to Thomas. There was no need for them to talk in private; Crystal couldn't hear them at all. Not because of the rain, which would be a trivial reason mind you, but because she's too far off to hear anything: Even the thousands upon thousands of raindrops went unnoticed, with thousands upon thousands more on the way.

"And you're not afraid of having a blind man on a mission with you?" Thomas inquired. It sounded like a joke, but Kanon hadn't thought about it at all.

"Are you going to be alright?" he had to ask. Thomas shrugged his shoulders.

"I won't lie," he warned, "The rain is throwing me off. When you're blind, you rely on your senses such as hearing in order to adapt. But with so much background noise, it might be harder for me to hear something happen."

"Hm..." Kanon muttered to himself as he wondered what to do: Kanon wanted to go back to the Rosa In Fiore to see the true nature of Cesare's visit. A simple task in itself, but Cesare knows of the Assassin Order, and Kanon might have to fight. As backup, he had brought Thomas and Crystal to accompany him, but with Thomas's seemingly diminished efficiency, and Crystal's emotional state, Kanon deemed that they were not able to proceed.

"I see," Kanon told Thomas, "Take Crystal back to her house. I'll proceed on my own." He went to take off, but Thomas tugged at his sleeves.

"I won't let you do that," he said with fire in his voice. His blindfold was staring straight at Kanon, who asked what Thomas wanted to get off his chest. "I'll escort Crystal back to her house, but I will accompany you to this mission."

"Out of the question," Kanon responded, "You are at a disadvantage with the rain-"

"Disadvantage?" Thomas interrupted, "I'm BLIND! I'm always at a disadvantage no matter what I do! Why would this be any different?"

"I don't want you or Crystal to get hurt!" Kanon shouted back through the rain. In the midst of it, Crystal's eyes sparked just a tiny bit of hope as she held her head a little bit higher. Does he really care about them? Does he really care about... her?

"And what of you!" Thomas demanded him to answer, although he didn't give him a chance to reply, "What if you get killed? What if Cesare's men surround you!"

"What if they surround us then!" Kanon retorted, "We might die!"

That sentence didn't bring Thomas down, nor did it held his tongue. He held the side of his blindfold, ripped it off his head, and stared right at Kanon's eyes. Thomas's eyes looked just like a snowball with a grey rock in the middle: The pupil looked white as well, albeit a darker shade than the rest. If it wasn't obvious that Thomas was blind...

But something lurked inside of his eyes. His brows did slant towards the ground, showing his anger, but Kanon could see where anger truly lied: In his eyes. Just like with Crystal. Just like him. Kanon started to change his mind, but he was still on the fence. That all changed when Thomas spoke.

"Then we die as friends... but we won't die alone."

If Kanon was on the fence before, his words had knocked him right over it. Crystal regained her fighting spirit by Thomas's words: Sure, what happened with Kanon devastated her, but they were friends... and friends never leave one another.

"Count me in," she said with such energy, much to the surprise of the both of them. Crystal hadn't said a word to Kanon, and what little words she spoke to Thomas was filled with sadness and sorrow. But now... Now... she was back to her old self. Back to her old, fighting self.

Kanon looked at the two and smiled; how could he say no? But first...

"Thomas, put your blindfold back on; it's creeping me out."

Thomas chuckled a little before putting it back on. Kanon hasn't seen Thomas without his blindfold before, but now that he has… it seems creepy.

Kanon smiled at his friends and said, "Alright then, try not to hold me back."

Thomas returned the smile as Crystal smirked at his challenge. Kanon took off towards the Rosa In Fiore as Thomas and Crystal awaited on top of the nearby building, lying in wait. The rain hit anyone in the eye who tried to gaze up, and the lack of moonlight helped them stay hidden. Kanon hit the ground after jumping off such a great height, but it affected him not. He rolled when he touched the ground, and headed right for the five guards stationed outside.

"Assassin!" they shouted, as they drew their blades. Kanon held up his left hand as an open palm before closing it into a fist, giving them the signal that they were hostile targets. Crystal and Thomas moved into position: To the left and right of Kanon, both poised to take out a single guard.

Kanon hesitated not: He used his right hand to wield the Sword of Bloody Rain and instantly clashed with the middle guard. The guard had a much bigger blade, but Kanon's unique swordsmanship allows him to slide the curved blade past the guard's, leaving him open to a backwards stab. The blade had entered the man's stomach, and he screamed in pain as Kanon left it there.

The other two guards came in closer towards Kanon, but luckily he could handle them: Crystal and Thomas, in perfect synchronization, jumped off their respective buildings and instantly assassinated the two guards they had been assigned. Their blades entered into the enemies' neck at the same time, they both got up at the same time, and they even swiped the air at the same time to remove the red blood off of their blades.

Kanon didn't stop his offense: He had dropped his Sword in the man's chest so he can take out his Dagger of Tears to slash the throat of one of the guards. The blood was quickly washed off in the rain, but there was still one guard left. He had seen his fellow guards murdered in less than a minute, and he stood there breathless. Kanon took his blade from the dead body and held it at the guard, with Crystal and Thomas right behind him.

"No, please," he begged for his life, "Please, spare me sir!"

Kanon looked at the man, sheathed his blade, and held the man by his neck. He clutched it tight, as if he was trying to strangle him singlehandedly (literally). "What business did Cesare come here for?"

He loosened the grip only slightly, enough for the guard to talk. After coughing to regain his breath, he stared at Kanon and replied, "He had some business with Santino! If anyone would know of his visit, it'd be him!"

Kanon scowled. Santino... the same man who placed the bruises on Fiora's face. He told Thomas not to hurt him... at least, not much... but after hearing that he had business with Cesare, maybe Kanon thought it'd be a good time to remedy his past mistake. Kanon didn't waste any time; He crushed the man's neck, instantly killing him. His eyes wide open, Kanon slid them closed, as he did with his own.

"Death comes at any time, but luckily yours comes with tears falling from the sky. Rest in peace..."

With that out of the way, Kanon acknowledged that they needed to enter the Rosa In Fiore to interrogate Santino. If the guards outside were of any indication, they would have to deal with heavy opposition inside from Cesare's guards. He fingered the numbers five, four, three, etc, as a countdown before kicking down the door.


	11. Sequence 10 Separation Anxiety

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 10: Separation Anxiety

[Commencing memory in progress...]

The sound of wood cracking in half filled the lobby with a thunderous roar more loudly than the storm itself. Kanon immediately ran into the room first, like any good leader, and Crystal and Thomas followed, both eager to get out of the rain. Their soggy Assassin White outfit looked hideously dark grey from the damp rain, and clung to their skin tighter than a boa constrictor. Sure, the armor separated the skin from the tunic, but the Assassins still felt their chest being tightened.

The guards inside the lobby turned towards the source of the sound, looking away from the tied up courtesans. One of them had her clothes ripped off, with nothing on but her sexy underwear... and even that didn't leave much to the imagination, considering how skimpy it was. The men, who had stripped off their armor, would've surely had their way with her had they, the Assassins, not appeared. And they still might've, if they failed to save them.

Which wasn't an option. Quicker than lunging snake going for the kill, Kanon threw two throwing knives at the two guards in the far back. The knives had pierced through their chest like a hot knife through butter, only getting stuck at the rib cage. No matter, as Kanon thought, those knives were expendable, like these men.

Crystal had tossed a single knife into one of the guards as well, but going straight for the heart. Without the sturdy protection of metal, the knife went through the skin as easy as a sticking a finger through water, leading to the man's instant death. The men's lack of control had lead to their immediate downfall... Don't get me wrong, with Assassins this skilled, these men would've met their demise regardless... But had they kept their sexual urges in check, they might've lived JUST long enough to have prayed for their lives.

The only one to have not thrown a knife (Thomas, as if you used process of elimination) had used a gun instead: Lodged underneath the Hidden Blade was a pistol attachment, allowing the user to have close range combat as well as distant assassinations. The gun could only shoot one bullet at a time, like the flintlock pistol, but it did not needed to be winded up as such, and it could be used at a moment's notice.

Despite Thomas's "disability," his skills as an Assassin were almost unparallel... for an apprentice at least... as he, in something short of a split-second, (for a lack of a better word) "sensed" not only where the men are, but which ones had armor on and not, and who Kanon and Crystal were to kill. As such, he needed only a micro-second to pick a target (preferably one with armor), raise his hand, aim, and shoot. Even skilled Assassins needed a few second to prep and aim, but Thomas did it as if he was born to use such a weapon.

The bullet went at high speeds, so armor was somewhat useless: Sure, it technically slowed the bullet down, but it was still able to pierce right through it as if it was a piece of sheet metal. The guard was still alive on impact, but the wound and blood lose made him nothing more than a fading threat.

That said, Kanon immediately took out his close quarter weapon, the Dagger of Aeon, and stabbed through the closest guard next to them. He had gutted his stomach, stabbing the blade through its acidic juices, and took it out so fast, it looked like the organ would soon follow (much to the pleasure of everyone, it didn't). He then proceeded to slit the throat of the next man, as Crystal took out her Hidden Blade and stabbed through the neck of a nearby man: Both the targets had blood rushing out of their "second mouths." They desperately tried to patch it up with their hands, as if it was like a broken faucet, before slumping into the ground.

The last guard (Kanon was quick enough to count how many there were right before he kicked it open) had taken the practically naked woman hostage, holding a knife to her throat. He screamed out of pure panic, "Guards, come quick! Assassins!" before proceeding to grope the woman, touching her in places that couldn't even be described in a tasteful manner (but let's give it a go, eh?): He had grabbed her breast, as if it was an important jewel, and fondled with it, as if it was a lever that haven't been oiled in years. He licked her cheek, with insanity and lust in his eyes.

"So, I am to die!" he shouted in pure madness, "Then I will leave this world content, as this bitch is mine!" He continued to pleasure himself with her body, as if she was a toy, but as sick as it made Kanon, he was calm; He needn't say a word: He merely nodded at Thomas, who smiled back. Thomas had already placed another bullet in the chamber, and was waiting for the signal to attack. Underneath his torso, Kanon's hands sprouted two fingers, and pointed them at the man. Thomas, well a well oiled machine, fluidly, but still quickly, raised her arm, aimed at the man's head, and fired a shot.

The man was dead before he hit the ground, allowing the trio to rescue the maiden. While the knife held so close to her neck had cut her when the man fell, it was only a minor scratch. Kanon was quick to hold the woman, who was still shocked at what happened, and gazed at her face: He recalled that her name was Grace, who was the woman who hit on him the very first time he visited this place. She was still too disturbed, so Kanon set her down before saying his prayer of the man slaughtered:

"Lust is like a snake: It bends your mind, allowing judgments to be clouded, and rationality disorientated. But may there be light at the end of your journey, as all it takes is love to bring out the good in people. May you all rest in peace."

Kanon opened his eyes to an angry Crystal: She never truly liked giving out prayers. She does it regardless, but she never truly believed that any of the men she killed would not go to a better place, nor do they deserve a peaceful slumber. She had much to learn, Kanon thought, and left it at that.

Thomas had announced what his excellent ears had heard, "I heard rampant footsteps... Sounds like they are coming here." This surprised Kanon and Crystal, who couldn't hear a sound besides the muffle of the woman with their mouths covered and the pitter patter of the rain.

The door on the sides of the lobby swung open, with several guards at the ready. Kanon raised his Dagger in defense, but Thomas stopped him. "Go find Santino," he shouted, with his eyes/ blindfold looking at the group of men that surrounded their sides, "We'll cover you."

Kanon looked at Thomas, who smiled back, and agreed to this plan. He simply nodded and vacated the area, taking the flight of stairs that lead to the "rooms." Kanon felt worried that there might be too many men for Thomas and Crystal to handle, but feeling confident that he taught them well, decided to leave it to fate.


	12. Sequence 11 Despair

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 11: Despair

[Commencing memory in progress...]

Santino, the man Kanon had been looking for, had stepped outside the confines of his room in order to see what the commotion was about. Seeing Kanon's white tunic, he immediately ran the other way, causing Kanon to chase him down the hall. Unfortunately for him, the hallway only ended in a dead end, with a huge window at the wall. The man opened the window, letting in the rain, and looked down to gauge the jump: He'd surely survive, but not without broken limps. With that in mind, he turned to face Kanon, who had seemingly appeared to have teleported before his eyes

"You!" he shouted in fear, "Cesare said I wouldn't see you again!"

Kanon looked confused, and luckily the darkness of the rain covered his eyes in shadow, but what was he talking about? He never met Kanon... Of course, he met Thomas, who had been dressed in a similar manner, but Cesare didn't send for him... Kanon did. What's going over? He decided to question him.

"What business did you conduct with Cesare?" he asked, or rather, demanded... "Why did you mention seeing me again?"

The man took a good look at Kanon's face, and expressed his thoughts: "Wait... you are not the same man."

Kanon rushed towards Santino, clenched his shirt, and held him out of the window. The man struggled to escape his clutches, but the threat of falling off the window stopped him cold. "Answer me!"

The man was too scared to move, but his lips weren't. "Cesare said he had sent a man in white, such as yourself, to threaten me," he muttered under the hard splash of the rain, "He threatened my live and my sister, so we had to work out a deal."

Kanon understood the situation a little better now, but he wasn't pleased: Kanon had sent Thomas to rough Santino up as revenge for hitting Fiora. However, he told Thomas, who followed orders to the letter, not to say a word about his appearance. Cesare must've used that to twist it around in his favor, by telling Santino that he had sent that man. But apparently, he and Cesare had a deal, which is why Santino mentioned about "not seeing him again."

"What was the deal that you and him worked out!" Kanon asked forcefully, angry that his mistake might've caused all of this. He held him further and further off the window, with the cold rain splashing into his nose and mouth.

"In exchange for sparing our lives," Santino muttered as best as he could, "We had to give him a life instead."

"Who?"

"... Fiora."

"What?" Santino could hear the anger in his voice. "Fiora? You son of a bitch! You do not own her! You had no right to give her away like some piece of property!"

"I had to!" Santino shouted defensively, which wasn't a good idea considering his situation, "Our lives were more important than her! We provide a service to all the men and woman of this city!"

"Your service is feeding on the corruption of the human heart," Kanon replied, trying to suppress his anger. Help, it did not.

Thomas and Crystal ran up the stairs, finished with their prayer of their slaughter, to find Kanon holding Santino out of the window. Santino was innocent, to an extent at least, and they needed to stop him from killing him. They ran towards Kanon, listening in on their argument.

"This coming from a man who visits the Rosa In Fiore daily! Haven't you taken pleasure in a woman!" Santino found Kanon a hypocrite, not knowing that Kanon is still a virgin. Kanon held a blade towards him, but that only helped Santino twist Kanon's emotions. "What, am I right!"

"Shut up! You don't understand!" Kanon wanted to kill him, but he had to hold back his anger... but like a dam with several holes in it, it wasn't a question of whether or not if it will burst, but rather, when will it.

"Kanon, don't do it!" Thomas shouted, but the sound of the rain drowned him out. Crystal stood by, clearly hearing the conversation.

"Well you can forget all about her!" Santino smiled wickedly, knowing her fate, "Cesare is planning to use her as his personal sex slave! Whether she likes it or not! Which she probably will... She will moan for Cesare like she did for me, like the BITCH she is!"

An ocean of anger flooded inside Kanon: His dam had burst, and Kanon had lost his senses. He was on pure anger now, giving in on his emotions. He slammed Santino into a nearby wall, leaving behind a huge hole in its wake. But he didn't stop there: He kicked the man's head, breaking his nose in the process. Blood gushed out of him, but Kanon wasn't about to let up just yet.

He stomped at the back of his head now, using gravity to aid him in his anger, and slammed Santino's face into the hardwood floor. More of Santino's bone had been broken, but he kept laughing, taunting Kanon's brutal beat down, mocking him.

"What?" Santino muttered as he stumbled to get up, "Out of energy? I treated Fiora way worst than this!"

Thomas held his feet, not wanting to interfere with his leader's business, but not his tongue: "Kanon, stop it! He's messing with your mind!"

"You want to know all of the things I've done with Fiora?" Santino smiled as Kanon held his fist at the ready, "You want to hear about all of the things I've subjected her to! All of the things I've forced her to do with Lucia! Because this pain isn't even half of what I did!"

"Shut up!" Kanon shouted under the roar of thunder. Lightning followed his cry, flashing on Kanon's face for all to see: There was water in his face, but they were not from the rain: Kanon's face had been stained with tears, and more were on the way. Crystal could see how much pain Kanon was in and felt sorry for him, turning her head down to look away. Thomas, although he couldn't see, felt the aura around Crystal, and looked down as well.

Kanon didn't know what to do... He hurt Santino over and over again, but it didn't even relieve any of the pain Kanon felt. Tears strolled down his face under the midst of the rain, but none of them carried the sadness away. He felt defeated, heartbroken, as he held Santino's body in his hands, trying to decide his fate.


	13. Sequence 12 Emotion

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 12: Emotion

[Commencing memory in progress...]

A broken heart is one of the greatest illness a human can contract; It's not as simple as a broken piece of armor, oh no, that can be easily repaired with proper welding and maintenance. A broken heart can be compared to a broken, one of a kind vase: Irreplaceable, and shattered into a million pieces. And worst of all... it simply cannot be repaired.

Kanon's heart usually decided his actions: Logic be damned, Kanon trusted his heart more than his own brain, and even more than a brain of genius. It has gotten him this far in life, so with it shattered into pieces, what would he do without its proper guidance? And what do to with Santino, who lied in his arms, awaiting his execution. If Kanon could not decide his fate, then who would?

Thomas intervened after standing for so long, calmly walking towards Kanon, who had not moved a bit since he delivered a brutal beat down to Santino. He placed his arm on his, and looked at Kanon in the eye. "Kanon..." he started, trying to get his attention, snapping him away from his daze.

"Thomas...?"

"It's alright..." he continued in a soft voice, "Put him down. We got what we came for. Let him go."

Santino, drained of his adrenaline, felt every single morsel of pain that Kanon had delivered. Blood covered his face like tomato (spaghetti) sauce, with bruises and swelling as his meatballs. Kanon still held Santino by his shirt in anger, trembling as anger rose, but it eventually died down, allowing Kanon to let Santino's shirt, and his life, go. His body slumped to the ground, lying there lifelessly like a rag doll. Thomas smiled at Kanon, commending him for his choice.

"Come," he pointed towards the exit, "We shall take our leave. There's nothing left."

Kanon didn't say a word, as no man would've, but he did nod back, acknowledging Thomas. Crystal had been silent for this whole time as well, who wondered how Kanon felt. Thomas led the way, leading the trio down to the flight of stairs, where Madonna Solari had stood among dozens of courtesans, with twice as many guards. Way more than when Kanon had left the room. He HAD taught them well.

Madonna Solari had been furious at the Assassins, more specifically at Kanon, whom had become a regular customer. Her eyes blazing with anger, she stomped towards Kanon and demanded an explanation. "What the hell happened here! Why are all these men slain? Oh, Cesare is going to murder me for this..."

Thomas decided to speak for Kanon. "Madam, these men were raping these woman against their will," he reasoned, "We could not just stand back and allow it to happen."

"Well you should've," she retorted as she got all up in Thomas's face, "After all, these woman belong to me. They sold their very SOUL to me... They OWE me... So if I allow Cesare to rape these woman, then who's to stop them!"

"You don't own these women!" Thomas shouted back in her face, much to her surprise, "You can't hold them against their will!"

Madonna Solari looked angry, as if she wanted to kill Thomas, but she merely held back her anger. Smiling, she decided to prove to Thomas that these women were hers by playing her thump card (if you will). "You're right," she mocked in a sarcastic tone, "I cannot hold these women here against their will. So tell them they are free then. Tell them to leave."

Thomas looked around the room, a useless notion considering the fact that he was blind, but even a blind man could feel depression hanging in this room. Since Thomas could not see what was going on, I shall tell you what Kanon saw: Many of the women displayed a face of sorrow, and even after being told that they were free, none had budged from their spot. They sat there, looking at the ground.

Thomas sensed a courtesan next to him and went to talk to her. "Why don't you move, and be free from her control?" The courtesan looked away, and did not speak a word. Thomas felt her reply, and turned to Madonna Solari.

She chuckled. She laughed as she stared at Thomas's confused face. While Crystal didn't understand why, Kanon understood what was going on, but chose to hold his tongue. He didn't want to tell Thomas that this was a no win situation... Maybe he thought that this would be a good learning experience for Thomas and Crystal... Or maybe he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news.

"Don't you understand?" she asked Thomas as he didn't say a word, "These women could've left this place any time they wanted to. They had no chains around their necks, no locks in the door, and no guards that stood between them and the world. And yet they stay because you know why? They don't want to leave... They like it here."

Thomas's eyebrows slightly raised as Crystal flinched a little at this revelation. They didn't understand what was going on, but Madonna Solari wasn't going to let that go on any longer.

"They like it here because they are worthless! They could hold no job of their own, and these woman would be victims of rape had they stayed out in the streets, so if they were going to get it anyway, why not get paid for it! They accepted their fate as whores and embraced it. And if you think that there's a single woman here who thinks not, then by all means, go ahead and ask every single one of them."

Kanon's eyes shifted around the room: Each courtesan had a face that says it all: "She's right, we are nothing. We are useless. We are whores." Thomas didn't want to believe it, but Kanon tapped his shoulder and told him to drop it. "Thomas... we must leave before more guards come."

"But Kanon," Thomas wanted to ask him something, "Is she right? Is there nothing for these women?"

Kanon said not a word, but his silence had said it all... With that in mind, Thomas and Crystal followed Kanon as he walked towards the exit, accepting what happened. However, Solari had one more remark for Kanon.

"Fiora was once the same..." she scoffed, "But luckily she found Cesare."

Kanon turned around instantly, looking Solari right in the eye. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard from Santino?" She asked him, "Or you were too busy beating him up to hear what he was saying? Cesare didn't take Fiora... She went with him."


	14. Sequence 13 Moment of Truth

[Accessing memory]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 13: Moment of Truth

[Commencing memory]

Remember when I compared to Kanon's to a broken vase? Now, in order to see how Kanon felt, imagine that same pile of shattered pieces... and someone (let's just say Madonna Solari) stomping on them, breaking them off into a million more pieces. And with Solari's next comment, you had to visualize her spitting into the broken shards.

"What do you mean she went with him?" Kanon asked to know, not remembering that "he who increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow," "Didn't Cesare take her away!"

"Yes," she replied, "He took her away... But she chose to go with him. She always had dreams of escaping this place, and now that someone who could take her away appeared, she took it. She didn't need you anymore."

"What?" Kanon felt depression overwhelming him, but he had to know what she meant, "What do you mean she didn't need me?"

Solari smirked as she spoke, knowing that it would absolutely devastate Kanon if he heard this, "She never loved you."

Kanon always wondered what it felt like to be on the other side of a blade... He had hoped that he never would, but right now, at this very moment, he felt himself being stabbed in the gut, with the murder weapon being her words. "Explain yourself!" Kanon shouted, not remembering that there could very well be dozens of guards headed this way.

"She only was interested in you because she believed that you could take her away from here," she explained, "She always wanted to leave this place but had no means in order to do so! You think you were the first to catch her attention? No, there had been many others."

Kanon wanted to close his eyes and shake his head as if the whole thing would go away as if it was a nightmare, but it wasn't one... It was something worst: Reality. Kanon felt Thomas's hand on his shoulder, beckoning them to go.

"Our time is running short!" he warned, as Crystal stared outside the window, seeing a group of armed men running towards the building.

"Then I'll make it quick," he muttered as he leapt into action: Brandishing his Hidden Blade, he held Solari by the throat with the blade touching her neck. Since Kanon always properly took care of his weapons, the knife was so sharp that just a mere touch had left a cut on her, but seeing as what Kanon is intending to do...

Solari, unlike Santino, didn't budge. She knew he wasn't going to do it, and she called his bluff. "You won't kill me," she said with a cruel smile on her face.

"I have killed many others..." Kanon shot back, trying to keep her from distracting him. Crystal and Thomas both stood besides the door as the men came in. The first two to walk in were lucky: Their throats were slit in a blink of an eye, allowing them a quick passage to their death. The others weren't going to be so lucky, especially since two men were taken from them before they even walked into the room.

Crystal went into a deadlock with one of the guards by clashing her blade at his, but Thomas had to try to snap Kanon out of his daze. "Kanon, you can't kill her!" He didn't apply that same train of thought to the guards, as he quickly stabbed a dagger through the man's unguarded neck, piercing his jaw, causing him to slowly bleed out instead of an instant death.

"You seem to forget Thomas," Kanon shouted back without looking at him, "About our Creed. That NOTHING is true, and that EVERYTHING is permitted!" With the emphasis on "everything," Kanon raised his blade away from her neck, poising his position to stab her in the chest.

"But you won't kill me..." Solari kept telling him, staring deep into his soul, "I can see it in your eyes. You won't kill me because-"

"Because of what!" Kanon foolishly interrupted, as she would've told him anyway.

"Because you're simply too weak." Feelings of insecurity dwelled inside of Kanon, lying dormant, until her comment raised them from their resting spot, summoning them. Kanon's grip on her neck started to loosen, and his energy was fading fast. Am I too weak, he wondered...?

"You're not a man," Solari mocked, as Kanon stepped back, away from her. "You're not even a male. You're a childish, little girl. And yet you believed that Fiora was in love with you? No... She faked her love so that you could take her away. But Cesare... Cesare was a man of money AND power. So of course she'd dump you. Any woman would."

"Shut up!" Kanon tried to get her to stop, but the thoughts were already transplanted in his head. Kanon hated Cesare because he was of the Borgia bloodline, an enemy of the Assassins. But now that he was hearing that Cesare had taken Fiora away...

"Kanon!" Crystal shouted as she kicked the guard in the stomach, leaving him open for a direct stab in the spine, "We gotta get out of here! There's too many of them!" Even Thomas, who was one of the more promising recruits, had shown how weary he was: The ten bodies that lay in his feet proved that he had no stamina to spare.

Kanon had to put his feelings aside for now. His friends were in danger, and he had to think of them before his own. Going into his pouch pocket, he pulled out a smoke bomb, a tiny ball filled with chemicals that would explode into a cloud of smoke when thrown, and slammed it into the ground. The Assassins, sans Thomas, shielded their eyes from the burning sensation of the smoke, but the guards, unaware of what's going on, felt the full intensity of the effects, and cried out in pain.

The trio jumped through the window under the guise of the smoke. Crystal left first, with Thomas bringing up the rear. Kanon left last, as he stayed behind for a moment to look at Solari once more. She stared back, with blood dripping from her neck. Kanon avoided staring into her eyes, as he felt like he would only find pain, and closed them, offering a prayer of the men slain.

"Remember the choices you made in life, for what goes around comes back around. May you all find peace." Kanon opened his eyes to the cruel smile of Solari, but he only said one thing to her.

"You'll get yours."

With that, he jumped out of the window, chasing after his companions. Solari merely stood there, unfazed by his cryptic words. Blood dripped down her neck, and she realized that the more she attempted to wipe it off, the more it smeared across her neck...


	15. Sequence 14 My Heart

[Accessing memory]

Memory Block 1:

Sequence 14: My Heart

[...]

[Warning: Anomaly detected. Running diagnostics...]

[Waiting for results...]

[Stability error: This memory is unstable. Cause: Unknown. Would you like to view memory anyway?]

[Awaiting response...]

[Commencing memory...]

Crystal and Thomas had long since vacated the area all thanks to Kanon's training: He couldn't even see them at all from the highest rooftops. Or perhaps it was the rain that covered the rooftops, as the rain produced a mist that was hard to see through, especially when perched from up high. Whatever the case, no one was here to see Kanon cry. Tears dripped down his face once more, with all of his emotions come pouring out.

Had Fiora truly left him? Does it matter, since he was told that she was just using him? What if she never loved him? Kanon shook his head, trying to discard those horrible thoughts, but it was futile... The thoughts never left, and Kanon cried with the rain. His mind flashed back to the times he spent with Fiora... Were all of those false? Were they all lies, fabricated by her, for her?

Kanon's heart was torn. He had truly believed that he loved her... But did she ever return the feelings? Did she ever love him as he did her? The smile on her face when she met Cesare... Did she ever feel that way towards Kanon?

Damn that Solari, Kanon raged a little past the tears, I should've killed her when I had the chance! I should've slit her throat and watched as the blood bleed through it.

He was angry, but it wasn't his fault: He was suffering, and he wanted someone else to have suffered with him. Misery loves company after all...

But somewhere close by, someone was crying with Kanon: Crystal, sitting home all along, felt horrible as well... Kanon had been willing to go through great lengths to go after the woman he loves, but did he ever once feel that way about her? She loved Kanon, but he never returned the feelings... Crystal realized that Kanon must've been going through the same thing.

Kanon loved Fiora, as Crystal loved Kanon, but neither got what they wanted. Instead, they both sit there, alone, with no shoulder to cry on, and no one to mend their broken hearts. Crystal wept as she sat alone in her room, struggling with demons of her own: Fiora had left Kanon, and if he was feeling what she was feeling, then he would be emotionally unstable. What if a certain friend came along to take advantage of that...?

Crystal shook her head defiantly as well, imitating Kanon's nature, as she tried to deny her thoughts. She loved Kanon, and she wouldn't want to take advantage of his emotional suffering. But something evil inside her told her that she might as well... She'll never get another chance like this. She would manipulate his feeling of depression and turn them into lust. What harm could come from it? She would get what she want, and Kanon would believe that he's getting what he wants...

"No!" she cried out, trying not to succumb to temptation. She tried to ignore what she was thinking, but the thought was persistent: No matter how much she tried to push it back, it only rose stronger than before, until it was the only thing on her mind. She kissed Kanon before... His lips were sweet... She wanted to have more... She drooled at the possibility of what could happen...

Kanon regretted what he didn't do. He regretted not killing Solari, he regretted not killing Santino, he regretted not killing Cesare with his Hidden Gun when he had the chance and most of all, he regretted ever meeting Fiora. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be feeling this much pain. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be welcomed to heartbreak. If it wasn't for her...

I wouldn't be suffering, Crystal thought, as if her emotions were in direct synchronization as Kanon's. She regretted not showing her feelings towards Kanon before he met Fiora. She hated her. She was prettier with her soft curves and big breasts, and more experienced; she was in a brothel her whole life. Crystal had only her fingers. She couldn't compare to what Kanon must've experienced...

Kanon... Crystal's eyes widen with tears... What if... what if he never liked me at all? Crystal had opened herself to Kanon, but he refused to... "Indulged..." in her. What if it wasn't because he was faithful to Fiora, but because Crystal was... ugly? Crystal looked at the mirror in her room... She didn't see anyone attractive. Was she so ugly that she forced Kanon out of the room?

Crystal felt sadness, loneliness, and self hatred all at once. Why did Fiora have to take Kanon away? Why couldn't she find someone else? Why couldn't I be born beautiful like her, with big boobs and nice curves? The more Crystal thought about it, the more depressed she felt. Eventually, it got the point where it was all she felt. Soon, she took her Hidden Blade and held it close to her wrist...

"No, don't!"

Crystal, with tears in her eyes, stared at the source of the voice; Thomas stood there, inside the room, with his hand holding her blade back. His blindfold was still on... If she wasn't so depressed, she would've asked how he could've seen what she was doing... but inside, she stared into his "eyes."

Tears blurred her vision. For a second, she thought she was Kanon. Thomas was about the same build, with the same amount of hair and style. The most noticeable difference was that he has black hair instead of Kanon's silver, but with the tears in her eyes, the white blindfold seemed to have blurred the colors around. She eventually came to realize it was Thomas, but it didn't matter who it was...

She had a shoulder to cry on.

She sobbed all over his wet clothes, burying her face deep into his chest. Thomas stayed silent... A smart move, considering that anything he said couldn't have better than saying nothing. Thomas was a good friend. He was always there for his friends when they needed him the most. But as much as Thomas wanted to be there for Kanon, after seeing what crystal was about to do, he figured that he was right where he needed to be. Besides, Kanon wouldn't have thought this same course of action.

But he did. The blade from a throwing knife was held over his wrist as well. Kanon stared at the sharp blade underneath the shine of the moon, ready to make the incision. His eyes had no soul in them; He was on auto-pilot, doing the first thing his mind told him to. He knew that it was foolish to kill oneself over a woman, but it wasn't just that... Kanon had problems all his life, but like Solari said, he was too weak to do anything. He joined the Assassins in order to find some strength inside him to fight back, but for any problem that couldn't be solved with a blade, he ran away from. He ran, and ran, and ran... and now he was tired of it.

But he didn't do it. He threw the throwing knife into the roof he stood on. It went in pretty deep, perhaps to the point where it can't be retrieved. But Kanon didn't look at it. He gazed at the moon once more before screaming in pain. The rain grew louder, and thunder boomed throughout the town before lightning struck, but none of it could've masked his cries. Kanon screamed until his throat gave out as (although unaware of it) the skies turn bright white. He kept screaming as the buildings collapsed into the ground and he didn't stop until he went along with it.


	16. Sequence 15 Welcome to Heartbreak

[Fast forwarding into a more recent memory...]

[Memory found.]

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 15: Welcome to Heartbreak

[Loading city...]

In an open, white field filled with nothing, one would imagine that it stretches for all of eternity. Lines run parallel to each other as they spread throughout the horizon, setting up what's to come: Soon, as if by magic, buildings began to materialized, forming at the blink of an eye. Roads appeared as if they had always been there, and the people that populated it manifested out of nowhere. Familiar buildings such as the Grape Vine and the Rosa In Fiore popped out of the ground like daisies. The once white, empty field is now home to one of the most magnificent city in all of Europe... Rome.

[Commencing memory...]

The room was a sickly orange: The only source of light was the ones emitted from the few candles that were placed around the room. They burned as bright as it could, but the room was still too [dark] to see.

"Kanon..."

A [familiar] voice whispered into Kanon's ears. Her breath blew into the insides, but Kanon liked it the feeling of it. Even more was the fact that one of her bare leg draped over his as she came closer and close to him.

"I love you."

It sounded beautiful coming from [her]. As if it was like a melody stuck in his head, he couldn't get tired of it, so he asked to hear it once more.

"I love you."

Chills ran down his spine. He was as giddy as a schoolgirl, though he didn't let it show. Instead, he took his mind off it when he ran the fingers on his hand (all four of them) through the woman's soft, long hair. Eventually it reached her neck, down her spine, and into the straps of the underwear that held those two "melons" up.

She giggled. She was surprised that he was being so... forward, but she sure as hell didn't stop him. She leans forward on the bed towards, squeezing her breasts seductively with her forearms, making them appear as if they would pop if he "unleashed" them. Which he did.

She embraced him, hugging him tight, never letting go. Kanon squeezed back, laying his forehead on hers, with his breath meeting hers. She asked him for a favor, one that Kanon wouldn't dare deny.

"Promise me that... you'll love me... forever."

Why would he not?

"Of course... I'll never stop." he replied, with his words genuinely spoken from his heart.

She smiled at him, happy that he would keep that promise. She leaned back, ready to show him a good time. She playfully pushed him down before going down with him before going down with him.

Her lips collided with his, but it didn't hurt at all. In fact... Kanon didn't feel anything at all. He stopped kissing as he slowly, but woefully, realized what was going on.

His eyes shot open: The sunlight beaming through his window indicated that it was morning. He sat up and looked around the room, hoping to see... her... but she was nowhere in sight. He sighed as his head tilted towards the ground as he finds out that... he's alone.

"That damn dream again..." he muttered to himself as he raised himself out of bed, using his hand to wipe his face to wake himself up.

Years had passed. Kanon hadn't heard a word from Fiora since her departure with Cesare. But as scum as that man was, it didn't bother Kanon that she left with him (well, it did, but not as much); Rather, he lived these past few years in life wondering: Why? Did she really leave him because Cesare had money and power? Did she love Cesare? Did she love... me?

Kanon shook his head (old habits die hard, I suppose) as he banished the thought from the realms of his mind. But as much as he exiled it, like a tax collector, it came back. But it was only natural for him to deny it: Reality sucked. She was gone.

He thought about the dream he had... He was having a good time with the woman he loves. He looks back at the bed that he laid on and thought about going back to sleep. The dream was recurring... Maybe he'd get a chance to have it again. But was it healthy for him to think like that: Going back to sleep because reality was too harsh? He knew that it was just a dream... but…

He was trapped in his mind, and I know it's crazy, but hey, it's not that bad at all.

Well, for one thing, he has what he wanted in his dreams. And perhaps... maybe that was all that he wanted. He slumped onto a nearby chair, trying to understand something about his life: What does he want? When he was a child, ready to be indoctrinated into the Assassin Order, he had dreams of taking down the evil of the world, seeing the truth, and doing anything necessary to take it down. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

And now? Now... he's just worried about getting through the day. But that's not to say that he had given up... Oh no, he still believed that fate has something in store for him. If it didn't, he would've been killed by now, or worst, he would've committed suicide that day... But no, he was still alive, still alive to play the hand he's dealt with. But even the most efficient gambler has his off days, and Kanon was wondering how long his would last.

He took the time to dress up in his usual gear. On autopilot, he took every single step in ensuring that nothing would fall off of him nor bounced around, allowing him to move quickly and quietly. Despite his feelings as of the late, he was still a very efficient Assassin, and seeing the shiny Hidden Blade sharpened to the point where it could slice bread still made him smile.

With doors reserved for "regular" people, he jumped through the window, landing at the exact same spot that he always had. He ran through the mission log again and again in his mind as his legs took him there, but even as a skilled Assassin, he had his doubts whether or not he could handle this. However, at the meeting spot laid two more familiar faces.

"You're late," Crystal stuck her tongue out as Thomas sat down beside a rooftop garden, leaning his back on the fence.


	17. Sequence 16 Dragon's Breath

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 16: Dragon's Breath

[Commencing memory...]

"Oh come on," Kanon playfully argued, "It's not like you're never late. Remember that one time when the banker almost got away?"

"ALMOST got away," she pointed out in her defense as she physically pointed a finger at him.

"Still," Kanon debated, "You sure took your sweet time getting there... What the hell were you doing anyway?"

"Well EXCUSE me," she stuck her tongue out at him yet again as she put her hands on her body (which had developed QUITE nicely over the years) as she tried to make her point, "But it's not easy to look this beautiful." She flipped her hair with her hand, flaunting how much better she looked than before.

"Why do you need to look beautiful?" Kanon bickered, "Besides me, the only other guy who's gonna see you is BLIND," He paused to look at Thomas standing over the rooftop staring at the ground, "Who I STILL can't believe we made the lookout." Thomas merely turned his attention away from the ground for a brief moment to smile at Kanon's remark, finding the humor in it, before keeping an "eye" out.

"Ooh, you just don't understand!" she pouted much to Kanon's delight; It was nice to see that their friendship held up over the years, considering what happened... But enough dilly-dallying: Time to get down to the nitty gritty.

"So, who's our target?" Kanon asked as the mission debriefing was picked up by Crystal... Well, it was actually Thomas, but it wasn't as if he could read it...

"Again?" Crystal mocked as it was the third time he had to ask her what the mission was, "Jesus Christ, I told you thrice already."

"Thrice?"

[Thrice?]

"Fine, whatever, I'll read it again." She pulled a tiny piece of paper that was lodged in between her breasts (classy...) and unraveled it, reading its contents:

"Lady Revofev: A dangerous woman only to be tackled by skilled Assassins. An artist, she is well known for burning down the works of his rivals. However, delusional by her unstable mind, she started to attack and terrorize the people of Rome with the flames she control. While a distant assassination would be ideal, the layers upon layers of metal coating her would make the Hidden Pistol impossible to penetrate. Find a way to assassinate her."

"So wait," Kanon had to ask, "We're going to be going up against a fire wielding maniac without flame retardant clothes?"

Crystal looked nervously at her outfit: It was the standard outfit for Assassin Apprentices to don, but the clothes is VERY much flammable, and the fact that it's loose around the edges means that it's probable to catch on fire. Plus, the fact that it hugs the chest means that if the fire should make it that far... Even Thomas, who had grown to become a calm, confident Assassin, shuttered at that thought.

"Maybe we should let someone else handle this one," Crystal doubted, as it doesn't seem likely that they could pull it off. But it doesn't look like they'll be time...

"Help! A metal man breathing fire is attacking the art merchants!"

The trio heard the screams and rushed down from the rooftop to see what was going on. They looked around, but all they could see is a mob of people running away from the black smoke that ascends to the sky. Past all of them was a person covered in metal from head to toe, seemingly breathing fire out of the hole cut around the mouth of the helmet.

"This city..." the woman echoed from inside the shell, "This city is a poison to our minds! It must be burned into the damn ground!" More and more flames sprayed from the mouth, burning the valuable paintings down into ash, which ironically, it used to create such an elaborate image. The metal being then stomped onto the ash and scraped the foot against the ground as if it was trying to ground it into dirt.

Kanon wasted no time: He shot a throwing knife as hard as he could at the metal man, trying to pierce through its tough shell. However, it merely dented the being as it bounced off of it, alerting the woman of the Assassin's presence. She turned to see who had tried to attack her, and stared at her foe, analyzing them.

"White robes..." she spoke aloud, "Are you people the angels of God? Have you come to watch me smite these sinners!" She started to laugh hysterically as she blew more fire into the building as cries of help could be heard.

"No! Don't do this!" "I don't want to die!" "God, please help us!"

She laughed once more, tormenting her victims verbally and mentally, "God cannot hear you over the fires of your sins! Get used to the heat, for you shall be burning for all of eternity!" She laughs yet again, each time more crazed and dynamic than the last.

Thomas could hear the voice of the trapped residents despite the roar of the flames. It broke his heart a little, as it seemed impossible to get them out: There only two exits of the shop was covered in flames, and if the people tried to escape via the shop window, they would have to confront the one burning them. Still, he had to try.

"Kanon!" he shouted to get his attention, "We have to get the people out!"

"I know!" he shouted back, but no idea came to his mind. He can't kill the person unless he can somehow get past that metal shell, but if a throwing knife could only dent the armor, then what good would any other weapon do? He looked around to assess the situation, and it was then that he realized that something was missing.

"Wait a minute," he asked out loud, "Where's Crystal!" Thomas shrugged, not "sensing" her presence anywhere (although the fire did throw him off his game). Kanon kept looking around as the metal being was struck with a loud bang.

"ARGH!" it roared as a small metal ball had banged loudly against the armor. While it did not pierce, the power and impact of the shot at the very least hurt bruised the woman inside, diverting her attention away from the people inside the burning building. The woman looked at Crystal as she stood in the midst of the flames, tinting her white cloths bright red, much to the irritation of the metal being.

"You! You're not an angel!" She accused her, "You will die next!" She turned away from the building towards Crystal, who goaded her into fighting her.

"Why don't you come out of that bucket and face me then!" she yelled past the flames, taunting her.

"This "bucket" is God's armor!" she bellowed out loud as she started to explain her crazed mentality, "He bestowed this armor to me to fight against the evils of this Earth! You aren't worthy of him! You aren't even worthy to look at the sky!"

"Please," Crystal barked back, "That "armor" was given to you because God probably didn't want to see your ugly mug!"

That hurt her. She was visibly shaken at this revelation, but rather than spiral towards depression, she raged in anger as she stared at Crystal. Like a bull, she charged towards her despite the heavy metal, screaming "You bitch!"

"Crystal!" Kanon shouted as he was worried about her well being, but Crystal smiled and saluted before telling him her plan.

"Don't worry about me! Go rescue the people! I'll keep her busy!" She ran the other way from them, trying to keep Lady as far away from the burning building as she could. Crystal soon vanished from their sights, and Kanon wasted no time hesitating.

"Come Thomas, we have to save them!" He rushed towards the burning building, peering through it: He saw a family consisting of a man, his wife, and a small child all huddled up, hugging each other, shielding the young boy as the flames gathered around them. Kanon tried to get a closer look, but a small explosion shot a flame right against Kanon. He pushed off of the window as it tried to bring Kanon to his demise. He survived but if something isn't done quick...

The image of the family, crying in fear, accepting their fate, will be burned into his mind for all of eternity.


	18. Sequence 17 Through the Fire and Flames

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 17: Through the Fire and Flames

[Commencing memory...]

"We gotta get 'em out of there!" Thomas shouted through the crackle of the raging inferno.

"I know, I know! How the hell we gonna do that!" Kanon replied frantically as they were running out of time.

The fire was huge, smoldering the building from within. If the smoke doesn't suffocate them or the heat doesn't get them, then the building collapsing on them will. The fire was simply too big to be controlled, much less put out. And with every second becoming more precious than the last, things doesn't seem to be looking up.

Things weren't going so well on Crystal's end either. She kept dodging the mythical fiery breath of the metal woman, but only just barely: Some edges of her loose clothes singed upon a mere touch of the flames. Sure, her smaller build gave her the advantage over the other two Assassins, but her smaller build also meant that she'd tire out more easily: Every now and then, she'd had to hide to take a breather.

"You cannot hide from God..." the word rasped through the holes in the helmet, "You cannot escape judgment!" The woman turned its head left and right like a Robocop (considering how bad the peripherals must be in that tin can), analyzing the area to find out where Crystal had hidden.

"Please hurry, Kanon," she muttered to herself as she prepped herself to move, "I don't know how long I can last..."

Right as the tin woman breathed another breath of fire at her, she immediately leapt from her hiding spot (behind a couple of crates) in the nick of time. The fire tore through the crates, leaving behind nothing but ash. Crystal scaled the closest building that she could, being careful not to bring any fire through the windows she passed.

Speaking of windows, Kanon thought of an idea.

"Ok," he wondered, "What if... I go in there?"

...

I didn't say it was a good one.

"And..." the skeptical Thomas inquired, "do what exactly?"

"If I can get in," Kanon explained, "I can try to find a way out. I can help them a lot better than just standing out here.

"Hm..." Thomas didn't let off his skeptic attitude, but he could see the logic behind the plan at least. If they were helpless out here, then why not go inside? After all, in chess, when one is stumped, one would turn the chess board around (so to speak, because that's illegal) and see it from the other side. "Alright then, I saw a trough of water somewhere around here."

"A trough?" Kanon had no idea what that was.

"A container of water or food for the animals to drink and eat," Thomas explained (as if he was the teacher), "Geez Kanon, maybe you should've gotten an education. First 'thrice' and now this?" Thomas searched around for a little while before finally stumbling onto the trough: A large container of water for horses to drink from (as Thomas explained). He dipped a finger into it to see how full the trough was.

"Well, anyway, what about it? I don't think we'd be able to kill this fire with just this." Kanon kicked the side of the trough in a vain attempt to knock it over, but it was far too big and heavy.

"It may not be enough to kill the fire," Thomas noted, "But it's just enough to do what we need to."

Kanon tried to get what Thomas was thinking of. "Oh, I get it," he alerted, "We're going to pour this on the window stand and get the people out!"

Thomas shook his head. "No, this thing's too heavy to lift, and even if we could, it'd be too risky considering that this is our only source of water for now."

"So what did you have in mind?"

Thomas motioned for Kanon to come closer. Kanon shrugged at this perplexing notion, but nevertheless, decided to go with it. He moved closer and closer to Thomas, who kept gesturing him closer.

"Whoa there," Kanon joked, "Any closer and you're gonna have to buy me dinner." But closer and closer Thomas motioned, and closer and closer Kanon got until he was practically stuck to Thomas.

But that didn't last long: Not a moment passed once he got close that Thomas shoved him into the trough, leaving Kanon utterly confused, disorientated, and soaking wet. And he didn't just shove his head in for a quick dip, oh no, he literally dunked his head into the trough and pushed his body in. Kanon was too taken by surprise to resist at first, but as soon as he realized what was going on, he jumped out of the trough, coughing up the water he swallowed, and blowing the water he snorted out of his nose.

"The hell, Thomas!" he coughed out as water spewed from his lips, "Why'd you do that for!"

"I'm just helping you out in your grand, master plan," Thomas smirked, "I soaked you in water so your clothes would be less likely to catch on fire-"

"LESS likely!" Kanon interrupted, as he realized that there's still a risk that he WOULD catch on fire.

"So you can go in the building and rescue the people before anything bad happens," Thomas finished. Kanon realized what Thomas's true intentions were now, so he complied, but he was still bitter about being submerged in water.

"Wait a minute," he retorted, "What about you? You going to soak your clothes in water too?" He waved his hand through the flat surface of the water, gliding it across, "There's room for one more..."

Thomas smiled at the joke, but he brushed it aside. "Don't think it should be me that you should be asking..." He jerked his head towards where Crystal was hiding from Lady Revofev.

"What?" Kanon's face blushed a bright red color. Thomas could "sense" his embarrassment, and smiled, leading Kanon to explain himself. "We're not like that! I mean... she is... I..."

"Shouldn't you be saving someone?" Thomas brushed off Kanon's appeal, pointing his index finger at the building. Thomas was right: Despite their antics, there was still people in need of saving, Crystal included. "Well, I'll see if I can help Crystal out in any way."

"Wait," Kanon shouted, but it was in vain: Thomas had already gone clear out of earshot. Kanon taught him well after all... But that's a gift and a curse. But now's not the time for that: With a deep breath, Kanon got out of the trough, dripping water to where he stepped, and looked at the opening of the building. He took another deep breath, this time to steady his nerves (because it's not every day one has to dive through a wall of fire), and dashed towards the window, dolphin-diving through the firewall like it was nothing.

Kanon felt intense heat from inside the building: It was literally covered in fire, with it clinging to the walls, to the floor, and the ceiling. It seemed like the only way out was the way in, and since Kanon's clothes were the only one wet (for now at least as the heat was already drying it up), he was the only one who could've left through that way.

"Who are you!" a man shouted, as he pushed his family behind him, wielding a large piece of metal, ready to protect his family. "What are you doing here?"

Kanon raised up his arms... A stupid gesture considering the amount of weapons he carried, but he quickly identified himself as an ally. "Whoa, calm yourself! I'm here to rescue you!"

"Rescue?" The man lowered his weapon, "What rescue? There is no way out of here!"

"And you intend to give up, forsaking your family!" Kanon shouted over the fire as the support beams started to give away: Several of the beams collapsed behind them, blocking out more and more of the room. The space that wasn't on fire was getting smaller and smaller, and black smoke started to filled the room in its hazy fog, allowing for less oxygen to be wasted.

"Well, what do you suggest we do!"

Kanon didn't think of that, but he had to start thinking soon, as it wasn't the family's lives that were danger... His life hangs in the balance as well.


	19. Sequence 18 Firefight

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 18: Firefight

[Commencing session in progress...]

Embers of flames rain down from the ceiling as the Assassin stood by, scanning the area for any way out. The black smoke hindered much of his vision as well as his throat (despite the latter being quickly remedied by placing a black mask that all Assassins carried around his face). Kanon still coughed through the black piece of cloth, but he didn't breathe as much of the toxic in.

"What the hell is that smell?" he shouted as something didn't sit right with him: The smoke smelled differently, as if it wasn't burning through the wood that this building was made out of.

"The fire must be spreading to the paintings," the artist of the family noted, "This is an art merchant shop after all." The family choked on the black smoke as well, prompting them to imitate Kanon's gesture to wear a piece of cloth over their mouths (and their own shirts).

"Well, we can't stay here any longer," Kanon pointed out (the obvious), as he searched for another way out. He ran through the smoldering fires as they molested pieces of wood, even two or three support beams at a time. The family followed him as he dodged falling pieces of debris.

"Whoa!" he shouted as he evaded a piece of burning painting as it toppled from its resting spot, almost giving Kanon a concussion. The woman and child of the family squealed as they embraced each other, clinging harder and harder to each other, as more items begin to drop. Some were small, some were heavy, but all were on fire.

Kanon immediately found another room for the people to escape to, but the black smoke fogged the room up more and more, making it harder and harder on the eyes. Kanon glanced around the room and saw a tiny window that could be opened. He opened it as fast as he could to push some of the smoke out of the room. As the black fog vacated the room, it became easier to see the next exit, but it was covered by several pieces of fiery logs. The logs were burning brightly, but only some parts of it were actually on fire, allowing them to be touched. However, they were too heavy for a man and a woman to carry, but with two men, the task would be easier.

"Help me move this!" he shouted to the father as Kanon grabbed a piece of wood in his hands and gripped it tightly, waiting for the man to do the same. He was hesitant. "What are you waiting for? An invitation? Let's go!" The man quickly got over whatever fears he might've had about clenching a big piece of wood covered in fire and held it tight.

With a nod as confirmation, they both lifted the burning tree just barely enough for them to move it out of the way, but several pieces still lay in front of them. With the scorching heat from the fire driving right at their backs, they started to sweat more and more as they performed manual labor. From the tiny window that Kanon opened, one could see the struggle going on with Thomas and Crystal.

Thomas narrowly dodged the flames spewed from the tin woman's mouth as she sprayed it everywhere, not caring who or what got in her way. Thomas had no chance fighting her up close as he had no method of penetrating her thick armor, so the best he could do was be a diversion. While it wasn't a bad plan, as switching between him and Crystal resulted in neither of them tiring out faster, it was more of stalling the enemy than actually doing anything substantial.

"Thomas!" Crystal shouted as Thomas avoided yet another burst of flames, worrying if he sustained any injuries.

"I'm fine!" Thomas got up from the ground to wipe some unsightly dirt from his clothes, "But we gotta do something quick!"

"I know, but nothing seems to work on her!" They tried everything: Throwing knives only dented the armor, bullets bounced off out it, and arrows took too much time to prep to shoot, though they didn't imagine a piece of flint was going to cut through that anyway. As they could do was run, which tired them much more than the tin lady, who's getting ready for another burst.

"Kanon," Crystal pleaded as she readied herself to jump, "Please... Come save me!"

But Kanon was already occupied with saving someone else to save them. After finally pulling the last piece of wood away from the exit, it was now safe to cross over... But it wasn't safe to stay in that room any longer. As the fire chewed through the support beams, the rooms ceiling started to collapse, sending the entire building down on them. The survivors ran through the doorway in the nick of time: The room behind them was now just a junkyard bonfire.

"Ha ha..." Kanon chuckled to himself as he tried to compose himself after escaping death, "We were... We were almost in that."

"This isn't the time to be joking mister!" the wife scolded as she was too disturbed about being so close to death to play around.

"You're right," Kanon regained his composure, looking around for the next exit... which was non-existent. "Wait a minute... where's the exit?"

"Exit?" the man replied, "The only two exits out of this building were in the room we were just in! This is the storeroom!"

"Storeroom?" Kanon expressed his worries, "The hell! Why didn't you say anything!"

"Did it matter?" he shouted back, "You saw what just happened in that room! We would've been killed had we stayed there, and this room was the closest we can get away to!"

Kanon had nothing else to say: He was right. This was the closest room they could've escaped to, and even then, they barely made it. But still, they fought so hard to survive only to meet with a dead end... pun intended. Still, that didn't stop Kanon from trying to figure something out. He looked around the room for anything that might have helped, but all he found was buckets of paint, plenty of brushes all in varying shapes and sizes, and large pieces of tarp to paint on. While all suited the deposition, none suited the situation.

"Damn it!" Kanon shouted, "There's gotta be something, anything!" He looked around some more, but it was only a matter of time before the fire kills them all. He searched and searched and searched until his prayers were answered: He found two small barrels of gunpowder tucked away in a little corner. He grabbed one and smelled the contents, making sure they were real.

"The hell's a painter doing with so much gunpowder?" Kanon joked as he turned around to see the painter, but he was met with a gun pointed at him. Kanon initially wanted to put his hands up, but he was still holding the barrel of gunpowder (which was stupid considering that the gun would ignite it) so he merely talked to him. "What the? Come on, that's not funny, put that thing down."

But the painter didn't let his aim down. His wife and child stared at him with wide eyes as they stared at him with malicious intent in his eyes. He smiled crookedly, sneering at Kanon. "You should've let us alone..."

"Why are you doing this?" Kanon shouted, foolishly using the keg of gunpowder as if to block the bullet, "Don't you want to save your family?"

"I didn't ask for your help!" He kept one finger on the trigger, ready to set the timer off whenever he needed to, "You think I cared about this bitch!"

The woman opened her mouth wide open, shocked at this revelation. "How dare you!"

The man didn't take his sight out of Kanon: Most people would've diverted their attention away when someone talks to them but this man knows that Kanon was the only true threat... despite STILL holding the keg of gunpowder. So he opened his mouth to reply, never once letting his eyes shift away from Kanon.

"How dare me? How dare me!" The man gritted his teeth angrily, "How dare you! I know for a fact that that bastard child is not mine! You've been sleeping with Edward behind my back, even when we got married!"

"What?" the woman slumped defeated, her ruse foiled, "How did you...?"

"I've had my ways," he explained, "I heard it from a few friends of mine that you've been hanging around with this man, so one day I decided to follow you, and you know what I found out?"

"No, don't say it!" the woman cried out, desperate to not the crimes she committed, but it was futile.

"I found out that you're a VERY dirty girl... You can moan like the whore that you are! You're nothing to me! Not a damn thing! And if this damn idiot..." he paused to aim the gun at Kanon's head even more, "Didn't interfere, I would've sent you and that bastard child into the fire and I would've escaped. But since he did, we will ALL die here together."

"No!" the woman cried out as she dashed past her child to rush her husband, not worrying about her safety at all. The man's quick reflexes allowed him to shift the aim into the woman's chest, lodging a chunk of metal right through it. Considering his aim and speed, his reflexes were worthy of being an assassin, but his quick reflexes was also his curse, as he completely took the aim off of Kanon, who had dropped the gunpowder to rush the man, sticking a blade into his neck, and swiping it through, effectively slitting his throat. Blood dripped onto the floor, achieving death instantly.

Kanon, usually one to respect the dead no matter how wicked, completely ignored the artist to rush over to the widow, who was still alive, but only barely: She was fleeting away. Her child was in tears right in front of her, but all she did was stroke his hair, telling him that he will be okay. She looked at Kanon in the eyes, choking on her words.

"Please... save my son..." she whispered to him, with Kanon silently nodding. She smiled before closing her eyes, fading away...

Kanon closed his eyes as well, raising his hand for the dead. "Wrath and lust are horrible sins: The allure is too strong to resist, but I hope that you both find peace..."

He opened his eyes to a young child who had been standing there silently, though who could blame him? He just lost both his parents right in front of him. Kanon smiled at the young boy after removing his mask, trying to cheer him up. "Let's get out of here, shall we?" He picked up the keg of gunpowder that he dropped and kept the other at the ready. He set up a single keg at the wall, not knowing what's on the other side, and pushed the young boy behind him. He aimed his gun at the barrel, and with a perfect shot, detonated the keg, blowing the wall into bits, allowing them to escape the burning building.


	20. Sequence 19 Old Flame

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 19: Old Flame

[Commencing memory in progress...]

Kanon grabbed the little boy, rushing to get out of the burning building soon as possible as the detonation have caused the building to collapse. Kanon immediately dashed towards the light (something you don't want to do near death) with the boy's arm in one arm and gunpowder in the other, desperate to escape. Pieces of the ceiling slammed into the ground behind Kanon as he picked up the pace, screaming "Oh no no no no no no no no no!" as he dodged any debris that landed in front of him.

"We're gonna be okay!" he said out loud, not really sure who he should he was really comforting as he was panicking to get out of there. He knew that he had to get clear of the blast zone, but why the hell did he back up so far? Plus, why is he still insisting on carrying that second keg of gunpowder anyway! It's slowed him down not because it was heavy, but because it wasn't strapped on him, it knocked against his knees, which is VERY crucial on the ability to run. The fact that he could've dropped it on accident, or get accidentally ignited by the falling drizzle of embers, made him worried enough to just ditch it, but for some reason he thought it would've been a bad idea.

So still holding it and the boy by the arm, they both ran towards the newly destroyed wall, hoping that the other side was safe, or at the very least, free from fear of collapsing on them. I mean, being crushed to death is one thing, but does it have to be on fire as well? That's like stomping on a rat with a metal shoe after stepping on hot coal: It was just adding fire to what's already overkill.

Approaching the hole in the wall, he immediately tossed the keg of gunpowder outside of the burning room, leaving his hands free to push the boy from a falling piece of debris that would've hit him otherwise. However, in doing so, Kanon had set himself up for the hit instead, taking a fiery piece of wood to the back, smacking him into the ground, leaving him groaning in pain.

"Oh God, that hurt!" he screamed as he got right back up, limping his way towards the exit, finally stepping foot out of that forsaken building. He immediately fell to the floor, catching his breath as he wasted a lot of energy trying to escape, let alone taking a huge hit. He hadn't bothered to look up to where he was, but as long as it wasn't inside that burning building, he didn't care.

But he still had to get an assessment on his surroundings, so he peered up from the ground to find an amusing sight: Inside the home of the people who lived next door to the art merchants were two elderly couple sitting in fear as the wall to their living room was blown to bits. Kanon donned a nervous smile as he got up from the ground, wiping the dust off his costume as he spoke.

"You should find the guy who built this place," Kanon tried to joke off, "That wall was seriously not up to code." He tried to get them to smile, but the worried faces on the elderly couple didn't budge. Looking around, Kanon found the little boy he rescued standing in the corner as if he was waiting for Kanon to tell him what to do next.

"Come here," he said to the young boy who complied, rushing over to Kanon's side. He hid behind Kanon's tunic, afraid of the old people more than Kanon, a masked assassin. Bidding goodbye, Kanon waved to the elderly couple and said farewell, "Well, we'll be going now... Sorry about the mess..." He went into his pockets and pulled out a hefty sum of florins neatly placed in a bag and tossed it onto the table for their troubles. They didn't touch it, still immobilized by the sudden shock of his arrival.

Upon exiting the building, the first thing he noticed (because he heard some weird crunch under his feet) was a pile of broken glass (which, to clarify, was already broken) right below the non-existent window. And right next to the pile of glass was the keg of gunpowder that Kanon had chucked out of the building.

"Huh," he muttered, "So that's why I didn't see it in the house." He picked up the keg, shook it around a little bit, smiling that the contents were still inside. "Well, better it being chucked outside the house instead of being chucked into it..."

"Better for it not to have been chucked through a window in the first place," the young boy, after not saying a word, spoke. Kanon was surprised by his sudden words, but he smiled, finding the comment humorous and witty. He rubbed the top of the young lad's head, rustling his hair, as he wondered to himself what to do with him. But that train of thought didn't last long as a fiery explosion rumbled the ground, prompting Kanon to recall what Crystal was doing.

"Stay here!" he pointed at the boy as he picked up the keg of gunpowder, rushing to the scene. Upon his arrival, he sees Thomas and Crystal hurt badly on the ground, presumably hurt by the recent explosion as Lady Revofev marches closer and closer towards him. Crystal was unconscious while Thomas tried to crawl his way to her.

"No!" Kanon shouted as his first instinct was to aim the gun at Lady. With his quick marksmanship, it took him less than a second to raise his arm, aim the gun, and fire straight at the woman's helmet. While it did no good at penetrating the metal plate, it at least captured her attention, focusing away from Thomas as he clutched Crystal's arm, trying to find a pulse. With Thomas hurt and Crystal out of commission, he alone had to face Lady, and it didn't look good.

Kanon rushed Lady Revofev, trying to hurt the monstrosity anyway he could. He dodged all the flames he breathed into his face, knowing that if he got closer, she would not be able to aim the fire down, considering how rigid the helmet was. With that in mind, Kanon used the Hidden Blade, which was always sharp enough to pierce through a Brute's heavy shell, to try to penetrate through, but it only jammed through a little bit: It was as if the metal armor were several inches thick, and he only passed through one. With that, Lady punched Kanon's gut with her metal arm, causing him to bend over for a knee to the torso. He flew back into the ground.

"Burn in hell!" the woman echoed from inside the tin can, breathing another onslaught of fire onto him. Kanon recovered from the hit quickly, rolling away to avoid the stream of fire long enough for the woman to lose her breath.

"Mister!" a voice shouted from far away was heard. Kanon looked for the source, finding the young child that he rescued earlier standing far behind Lady Revofev. "Use this!" He tossed the keg of gunpowder that Kanon left behind towards him. Kanon quickly stumbled out of the ground to catch the gunpowder, and finally found out its use. As Lady Revofev turned towards Kanon, he tossed the keg at her chest, aimed his gun, and fired a bullet at the explosive, destroying the metal shell the woman hid behind. The shock threw her off balance, sending her to the ground, unable to get back up with the bulk of the armor. And with that, Kanon leapt into the air, stabbing her between her breasts into her heart, killing her.

He looked into her eyes... They were filled with regret and sadness. She was oddly younger than he expected, with lush brown hair and a curvy figure under that hunk of metal. Inside the helmet that protected her face was the secret to her power: A set of tubes acted as an apparatus that whenever she blow into the tube, it would shoot oil over and small flame placed inside the helmet (like using a lighter with a can of aerosol). As Kanon kept his blade inside her heart, she spoke to him.

"Why wasn't God on my side...?" she asked, as she was afraid of dying. As Kanon's duty as an Assassin, he gave her a prayer, helping her pass on by comforting her.

"Your intentions was noble," he started, "But you didn't have to kill people."

"And what about you?" the woman questioned him, "What about this group of Assassins I heard about? What about everything is permitted?"

"We kill with justice in our hearts," he told her, "Not malice. We kill to save the good, not punish the wicked. That's why I will send you off peacefully."

"Would she be jealous?"

"Who?"

"That blonde woman..."

"Her? Why would she be jealous?"

"You are Kanon, no? She kept asking for you to save her like you're her hero or something. Must be nice to have someone like that..."

"Hopefully when you find peace, you'll find someone too... Rest in peace."

And with that, Lady Revofev closed her eyes, allowing Kanon to remove his blade. He looked over his shoulder to see a wounded Thomas propping up a conscious, albeit hurt Crystal. They smiled at Kanon for saving them as they left the body there for the city guards to take care of it. As they rested somewhere, taking Health Potions sold to them through local doctors, a young recruit came up to Kanon's group, telling him that they are needed.

"Francesco Vecellio would like to have a word with you guys," he stated as the experienced Assassins each choked down the bitter, syrup like concoction down.

"What's the news?" Kanon asked as he finished his bottle down first, chucking it to the ground, "Can it wait? We got wounded."

"I'm afraid Francesco needs you all right now," the young recruit who's starting out as a messenger apologized, "But it's urgent. Apparently, they found a defector from Cesare Borgia who's willing to impart some information to us."

"Really?" Kanon was surprised, "Well then, I'll go meet them. Where?"

After a brief exchange of locations and directions, Kanon set off to find the meeting spot (not knowing that he was being tailed), which was located right in the middle of a crowded city street in order to avoid suspicion. Kanon had travelled through the rooftop to get to his destination faster (as he was the least hurt from the recent battle) and as soon as he was within range, he jumped from the building to the closest bales of hay, landing safely. He quickly got out, eager to see his old friend Francesco when he was met with an entirely different old friend...

A certain woman that he hadn't seen in years.


	21. Sequence 20 The Defector

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 20: The Defector

[Commencing memory...]

Time froze. Kanon stood there, eyes wide open. He wanted to believe she was there in front of him. He wanted to make sure that she was back. He wanted to move, walk his ass over there, and give her a great big hug. He wanted to tell her that he missed her, kiss her on the lips, and then act as if those years that passed by didn't exist at all.

But he didn't do anything. He just stood there. A gust of wind brushed aside his hair back and forth in front of his face, but that didn't bother him at all. His mouth was half way opened, as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out. With his heart pounding, he raised his hand to reach out to her, but at a blink of an eye, she vanished. Kanon didn't take his eyes off though, as within another blink of an eye, she reappeared. Static disrupted her appearance like an electromagnet to a hologram...

[Warning: Memory may be destabilizing...]

[Running diagnostics... Error found.]

[Subject's emotional state is unstable. Synchronization is faltering... Subject is at risk for possible side effect.]

[Would you like to continue anyway?]

The woman talking to an Assassin was directed towards Kanon as he noted his presence. She turned towards Kanon, her jaw dropping slightly, as if she couldn't believe that he was right in front of her. She made her way over to Kanon, who didn't move.

"Was this a dream? A figment of my imagination?" he wondered, "It's gotta be. She left years ago with Cesare Borgia... there's no way she'd be here, with the Assassins... I gotta be dreaming... I'm just being delusional again, like every single night..."

A screenshot of the dream he had this morning flashed into his mind: A woman shrouded in shadows embraced Kanon, hugging his body, kissing him on the lips, stood out vividly to him. So if this was a dream, then he wouldn't feel anything if they kissed...

But he did. The woman walked over to Kanon, grabbed his head slightly, pulled it closer towards her, and kissed him on the lips, closing her eyes, immersing herself in it. Kanon didn't struggle; He closed his eyes as well (which was a lot better than opening it) and started to kiss passionately. He kept rubbing his lips over hers, remembering how warm she was, remembering how soft her lips were, remembering how much he missed them. How much he missed her...

Then he stopped. She kept on kissing him, but Kanon couldn't anymore; All those feelings of loneliness and anger welled up inside him. He remembered the nights where he missed her, but he also recalled the nights that he began to slowly hate her for leaving him. He started to lose his sanity a little from having a relationship suddenly cut off: Not even a goodbye was uttered.

"Ahem," the Assassin playfully coughed, interrupting their performance, "I would've introduced you to each other, but I see you have already met." The Assassin smiled slyly, embarrassing the woman. Kanon remained unfazed.

"What's she doing here, Francesco?" Kanon asked coldly, letting his hatred show. That hurt her: She glanced down to the ground with a sad look on her face.

"This woman, Fiora Cavazza," Francesco explained, "She is the defector from Cesare Borgia. She has quite a list of people associated with him that she's willing to give us."

"Oh? Well, what happened?" Kanon inquired sarcastically, "Did you find someone else who could take you away?"

"Kanon..." she said softly, obviously disheartened by the fact that he's being so heartless towards her. He tried to look away from her eyes, trying to hold back feelings of guilt, trying to hold back from apologizing.

"Well," Francesco broke the ambient awkwardness, "Aside from Kanon's... "crude" remark, he did raise up an interesting point. Why are you defecting from Cesare?"

"You want to know why?" she turned towards Francesco, placing her hand on her chest, starting to get riled up, "He almost sent me to my death! He almost got me killed!"

"Whoa," Francesco replied, "Wait a second... You mean, all that blood in your bedroom, that was-?"

Kanon's eyes shifted towards Fiora, obviously still worried about her despite the front he was putting up. Was she attacked? She doesn't look hurt, but there was mention of blood. What's going on? Intigued, he let down his defensive guard, trying to listen in on what she has to say.

"Allow me to explain what happened..." she started, ready to weave a tale...

[A file containing a simulation of events exists... Would you like to run the program?]

[Booting simulation: Fiora Cavazza x Malfatto]

[10%...25%...45%...60%...80%...95%...100%]

[Loading complete.]

[Running simulation...]

Fiora returned home after a hard day of work. While serving under Cesare, she became his most trusted agent while still serving as a courtesan. She didn't mind however, as it wasn't like working at the Rosa In Fiore: She had money and power, so she could choose who she slept with and how much it would cost. However, the gig was more of a job than moonlight: Men carried loose lips when they are in the presence of an angel, and if Madonna Solari taught her anything, it's that women can use their lips to spill the men's.

That part of the job was easy however: All she really had to do was to either lie on her back or get down on all fours. But it was boring for Fiora, who'd gotten used to killing with a blade after serving Cesare. She'd worked with many of his best agents, such as Baltasar de Silva the barber, Il Carnefice the executioner, and the unforgettable twisted siblings Cahin and Caha, who'd put on shows to masquerade their killing. Fiora loved killing... She'd regularly lick the blood that stained her metal fan in a sexual fashion, as it turned her on more than any man could.

But today was different: It was her most difficult assignment ever. It had started off as simple as it could've been: Cesare Borgia simply asked her to present a letter. Anyone could do it, so obviously, he could trust his best agent to do it for him, correct? Not so: The receiver of the letter was a man named Malfatto, a doctor that, while is the best in the business, is also known to use that profession to his advantage: He had killed countless people with grotesque methods such as slitting their throats, disemboweling them, and even decapitation. Worst of all, all of his victims were courtesans...

So naturally, when Fiora came up to present the letter to Malfatto, he was quite pleased; Not because she was a beautiful young woman coming on to him, but because despite being out in the open, he set up shot next a very dark alley, and now, he had a new toy to play with. He grabbed her by the arm, trying to take her inside the alley to continue his terrible reign of twisted experiments. She resisted obviously, by shouting Cesare's name.

"Wait, I'm a messenger from Cesare, Cesare Borgia!"

Malfatto instantly let up. Fiora, catching her breath, dug into her pocket to hand Malfatto a letter emblazoned with the mark of the Borgia. Malfatto, not apologizing for his actions, merely takes the letter and shrugs her off.

"What, you're not going to apologize?" Malfatto doesn't even turn around to acknowledge her. As far as he's concerned, she did her job. Upset, she muttered the words "You monster" out loud before taking her leave, not seeing the slight twitch that Malfatto exhibited...

So she sat at home, late at night, trying to unwind after a near death encounter. She had popped open a fresh bottle of wine, only the best for her, and poured herself a glass, toast to the good life and take a sip. She tried to relax on her bed with nothing but her white underwear on, lying beneath the covers. She closed her eyes to sleep, but she felt something pricking her neck... At first, she just dismissed it as an insect. so she proceeded to smack it off, but to her surprise, she felt a hand with hers...


	22. Sequence 21 Up All Night

[Resuming previous simulation:]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 21: Up All Night

[Continuing memory simulation in progress...]

Fiora instantly jumped away like a cat with cold water splashed on it as soon as she felt the hand, but she was a little too late: Some of the toxic that was bottled in the syringe was already entering her system, making her feel woozy, turning her legs as weak as jelly.

Still, she had to get away from whoever was attacking her, so she mustered all her strength to jump away from the bed, landing on the floor. She was feeling a little dizzy, but that was enough to blur her eyes to the identity of her attacker: A man wrapped in dark clothing wearing a mask stared back in her eyes.

"Malfatto..." she muttered as her eyes widened in fear. She tried to claw away from him, scratching her finely polished nails on the floor, desperately trying to escape from his clutches. Malfatto said nothing; He merely walked over to her and pulled her hair, forcing her head towards him.

He tried to inject the last of the toxic into her, but she struggled, smacking the syringe out of his hand. It slammed into the floor, shattering it into pieces, its contents pouring through the cracks. Malfatto went over to the puddle of poison, shaking his head side to side. "Tsk tsk tsk," was faintly heard before he turned back.

"No, no, please," begged the man as she continued to push herself on the ground away from him, "Don't kill me!" But Malfatto remained as silent as the mask he donned, as cold as his equipment, and as heartless as his victims. He smiled faintly behind his white mask, stepping calmly over to Fiora, knowing that she's as helpful as a tiny baby infant with two broken legs.

The effect from the toxin greatly diminished Fiora's ability to move, but it didn't stop her: She kept pushing herself away from the cocky bastard, trying to get as far as away as possible. She tried to think about what she should do, but she was panicking too much to think rationally. She had tears in her eyes, too scared by the fear of dying to wipe them off. She kept going, not realizing that it might be futile.

Malfatto grabbed Fiora by the leg, dragging her body on the hardwood floor as he pulled her like a piece of rope, not caring if she felt pain or not. She tried to stop herself by grabbing the nearby bedpost, holding on to it for dear life. Malfatto didn't like it when his patients struggle, so he pulled her as hard as he could, almost popping her femur out of the pelvis. She screamed in pain, much to Malfatto's pleasure. Gleefully, Malfatto hurt Fiora more, smiling more and more behind the mask as she screamed in pain.

Tears dripped from her eyes, and she tried to avoid having Malfatto looking at them. Malfatto kept hurting her, even stomping on her a few times, all for his self enjoyment. Eventually, Malfatto tried to get a look of her face to see how much she was crying, knowing that she did when he heard a single tear hit the floor.

He leaned in, but Fiora quickly swung her head away in haste, not realizing that the quick jerk had spilled several tears into the ground. Angrily, Malfatto grabbed her head, and after seeing her face welled up in tears, pushed her head back down on the ground, satisfied.

Malfatto grabbed the woman again by the arm, forcing her up. Her screams and cries went unheard by anyone but Malfatto, who still remained emotionless as ever. He shoved her on to the bed before proceeding to climb on top of her.

Fiora may have role played a little with her customers, maybe even dressed in unusual fashions and done some pretty embarrassing things in an effort to make some good money, but now that it was actually happening, Fiora kept begging him to stop as he groped her wondrous body, feeling up every curve, placing his fingers where they shouldn't be.

Fiora struggled to get the man off of her, but he was too strong to push off. As Fiora started to thrash around a little by forcing her body despite the toxic, her legs eventually started to get the feeling back, allowing her to move a little. She eventually had enough strength to punch the doctor right in his neck, forcing him to instinctively grab it in panic, allowing Fiora to kick him off. He fell to the ground, landing on his back. Fiora immediately ran away from him, but as she tried to leave, the force of her feet caused her to slip on the expensive rug that she had around her bed, causing to fall.

She got up pretty quickly, but Malfatto had already recovered, prompting him to grab Fiora by the neck. He lifted her up as she tried to release his grasp on her with her own hands and slammed her into the wall, knocking down some of the painting that hung around the room. He then proceeded to toss her into a nearby vase, smashing it into the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She coughed, trying to recover from being choked, as she tried to stand up. As Malfatto tried to grab her, she kicked him in the delicates, causing him to fall to the ground as well. She kicked him once in the face before turning to run.

However, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, Malfatto got up and grabbed Fiora before she escaped the room, tossing her yet again on the bed. However, rather than trying to have his way with her (he still might), he pulled out a scalpel, now intent on killing her. He held it in the light, showing it to Fiora his instrument of murder. He leapt on the bed, eager to stick it in her (and yes, that childish attempt of humor is intended).

However, now thinking rationally, as well as having control over her legs once more, Fiora now remembered that she had a weapon of her own stashed underneath her mattress. Timing it perfectly, as Malfatto leaped for the kill, Fiora pulled out a handheld fan made of sharp steel and swiped it at his stomach, wounding him severely. He immediately grabbed his stomach and fell over, not even making a groan as he bounced on the bed and bounced off. As Fiora tried to deliver to finishing blow, Malfatto limped towards the window he'd enter from and jumped out, saving himself.

As Fiora takes a moment to catch her breath, she sat alone in her room on a bed whose sheets were stained with blood. She looked at the light emitting from the moon, sighing about what just happened. She frowned... She had done much for Cesare: She killed for him, pleasured him, and served him loyally, but no more: Determined, she wanted revenge... And revenge she will have.

[Ending simulation...]

[Now returning to current memory block...]

[Now loading up current sequence...]

"I see," Francesco had expressed his concerns, "So that blood was from an enemy, as I'd expected." He put his fist into his chin, thinking about what Fiora had just told them.

"How'd you come across her?" Kanon had to ask Francesco, still bitter at Fiora.

"Well, we've met before a couple of times," Francesco explained, "I gave her a way to contact me via carrier pigeon. She sent a bird to me that night, allowing me to safely escort her to the Assassin's hideout without arousing suspicions from Cesare's men."

"Oh, I see..." Kanon remarked, "Apparently, Fiora's got a thing for people taking her away." Fiora said nothing, but one would see by staring into her eyes that she was obviously hurt by his comment, but Kanon dared not look into her eyes, avoiding them as if she was Medusa.

"Damn, it's awfully COLD in here..." Francesco replied nonchalantly as he pretended to rub his arms. While it wasn't really cold (weather wise), he wanted to make it obvious that Kanon was being too cold towards Fiora: Francesco and Kanon had been friends for a long time, going way back, and since then, Francesco had always looked after Kanon, always trying to steer Kanon into making the right decisions in life.

Kanon got the hint, but he didn't apologize. He simply kept looking around, avoiding Fiora's eyes any way he could. He tried looking around for anything to stare at... And to his surprise, he saw a slight rustle in the hay bale that he used as a cushion earlier. Fearing it an enemy, he immediately pulled out a sharp throwing knife, ready to toss it inside until a young boy climbed out of it: It was the same young boy who Kanon had saved from the burning building.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Francesco politely asked the young boy as he stumbled out of the hay bale. He tripped and landed on the floor, prompting Francesco to pick him back up.

"Hey there little guy," Kanon smiled at him, trying to hide the dangerously sharp tool behind his back, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with a relative or something?"

The young boy, who had barely spoken a word with Kanon during the whole time they were together, opened his mouth and shy fully explained, "I don't have anyone else. My mommy and daddy is gone, and Edward isn't here anymore." He looked down on the ground.

Kanon, who had been responsible for killing his parents (despite the dad trying to kill him) sighed, wondering what to do with him. He wants to help, but being an Assassin makes it hard to have a personal life, let alone a commitment to care for a child. So, the only logical thought came across his mind...: "Why don't we raise him? As, you know, an Assassin? I mean, he's around the same age I got inducted..."

Francesco thought about it... Sure, they couldn't leave the boy out in the streets, especially with people like Malfatto walking around, so, feeling as if there's no choice, agrees. "Alright then," Francesco smiled, "I'll have him start training as soon as possible."

Kanon smiled at the young boy, who had only one thing to ask him: "Am I... going to be a hero like you?"

Kanon was slightly taken back... A hero? He recalled that the young boy was presence during his fight with Lady Revofev, so he must've seen Kanon stopping who might've been conceived as a villain (though she was more of a psychopath than anything). Still, that warmed Kanon's heart enough to grin at the boy. "Yeah kid, you will."

The boy smiled back. "Thank you for saving me mister!" He raised his hand to give a shake, to which Kanon accepts. However, Kanon, forgetting what lied in his hand, accidentally pulled out the hand holding his throwing knife, scaring the young boy white.

"Kanon, you idiot!" Fiora shouted as she smacked the back of Kanon's head, who just smiled at her, apologizing for what he just did.

"Well, look on the bright side," Kanon joked, "At least he has the colors on... Look, he's as white as a sheet... Or should I say, Assassin white?" Fiora proceeded to scold Kanon for scaring a young boy, reliving their relationship for a brief moment, allowing Francesco to see the relationship that she and Kanon truly have. Smiling himself, he cleared his throat loudly, prompting the two to pay attention to him.

"Alrighty then, I'm off." Francesco saluted them off, but Fiora had to ask something.

"Wait," she questioned, "What about the list? What about the targets?"

"Well, I just got the list, so it's still going to take some time to assemble a group together."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Kanon inquired.

"I don't know, you have some free time, so why don't you guys get to know each other better?" Fiora and Kanon both tried to speak up, both a little against the idea, but he just kept on walking, not hearing their cries until they were soon both alone with each other...


	23. Sequence 22 I Wonder

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 22: I Wonder

[Commencing memory...]

They stood silent. Neither of them had to courage to say a word to each other. Kanon wanted to apologize to Fiora, but he's still too bitter about what happened to say so. Fiora had too much guilt from leaving Kanon to apologize as well, leaving an awkward silence in the air. Kanon scratched the back of his head, looking away from Fiora as she looked down on the ground, scurrying her foot in the sand. Eventually, the silence was broken by the growl of their stomachs: They were hungry.

"Well," Fiora had to ask, "Why don't we go grab something to eat? I know a nice little place down the street; Best pasta restaurant in all of Roma!"

Kanon hesitated... Did he have enough florins? It sure sounded like a fancy place, probably one that Fiora would've been accustomed to while serving the likes of Cesare Borgia, but Kanon was simply an Assassin, and an apprentice at that. He wasn't rich, and he surely didn't invest in property like a certain someone, so money was hard to come by unless you were an aristocrat or a courtesan...

"Come on, I'll pay for it..." she nudged, probably realizing that Kanon isn't exactly made of money. Kanon did have trouble figuring out what he was going to do for dinner tonight, so as long as she was offering... Though he may have had to shallow his pride to allow a woman to pay for his meal, on the bright side, he might be able to apologize to Fiora, so long as he could muster up the courage too... It was easier to get mad than to apologize.

They both walked towards the restaurant as the sun set down and the moon appeared, making this trip a moonlight stroll. Several shops had fewer people tending to them, knowing that it's very rare to get business in the night time as the restaurants and brothels got all the attention. After all, if there was a place where you could get a thigh (chicken or otherwise), then why would one need a sword sharpened or armor plating?

The streets were lit from the moon and the fires in the streetlights, allowing pedestrians who didn't own horses or such to see where they stepped. Kanon kept his distance from Fiora as they walked, which seemed foreign to the two of them since they spent months walking together side by side, holding hands, enjoying each other's company, though not for long, as Thomas and Crystal had shown up to inquire about Francesco's meeting.

"What'd we miss?" Thomas asked with holding his sides with one arm, obviously still a little banged up from the fight with Lady Revofev. His face was covered (beside the cloth around his eyes) in scratches and marks, but he still smiled past it all.

"You would've been there if you gulped down the potion fast enough." Kanon retorted, still smirking that they were inexperienced in this regard. Every Assassin gets hurt eventually, so they have to drink down a certain fast acting medicine to numb down the pain. It allows the people to move and react normally without being addicting (especially with its taste) long enough to get patched up.

"It was bitter!" Crystal remarked, still a little disgusted that she had to drink it all. The syrup concoction was hard to get rid of fully, and it stuck to her mouth like the scales of a fresh fish. She gagged a little as she recalled the taste, something Kanon did when he first drank it.

"Well you know what they say, 'A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.'"

"Hey," Thomas answered, "I can choke it down just fine... It's the 'coming back up' part that's got me uneasy..."

"Well, if you'd chugged it down like I did, you wouldn't have tasted much of it. What'd you do, slowly took big gulps?" Kanon awaited a reply, but no one said a word, as if they just realized the better option. Kanon smiled at the rookies, despite being one himself, as he stared at their reactions. As he looked, he noticed a shine on Crystal's lip and decided to go investigate it. He took his index finger, wiped the glossy liquid off her lips, and licked it: It was the potion that they'd chugged down.

"Well geez, Kanon," Thomas joked (?) as he shrugged, "Why didn't you just lick it off?"

While the potion was a medicine, both Crystal and Kanon blushed instantly, as Kanon had became accustomed to having Crystal as a friend to have realized the gravity of what he had just done, and turned away towards Fiora, who was surprised by Kanon's action, who was in return surprised that Thomas could've actually seen that. Fiora, still clearly in love with Kanon, immediately felt a pang of sadness, but she didn't let it show, especially to him.

"Alright then, you guys are dismissed," Kanon tried to play it off despite the awkward feeling in the air, "I'll brief you later on Francesco's notes." Thomas took his leave with Crystal right behind him. With their sudden arrival, Crystal didn't have time to notice that Kanon wasn't alone... To her horror, the woman that she was (somewhat) jealous of, Fiora Cavazza, was standing right behind her. Like Fiora, she too felt a sudden sadness wash over her as she followed Thomas.

"Shall we?" Kanon asked.

They entered the restaurant dubbed "Roma Pasta," a typical high class restaurant with the people ion fine clothes eating in the back. This made Kanon, a young man dressed in his Assassin garb associating with a high class female such as Fiora (as well as being considerably big age gap), uncomfortable. Typically, he was accustomed to blending in with people, but when all eyes were on him, especially from the look of the maître d as Fiora slipped in the extra florins to "bump them up the waiting list." Kanon didn't say a word, but he didn't keep his head down either: He just followed Fiora to their seats.

"What can I get you, Fiora?" the waiter asked Fiora without handing her a menu. He didn't bother to hand Kanon one.

"I'll have the usual."

"I'll have what she's having?" Kanon didn't know what was on the menu.

"Of course, mister," the waiter said sarcastically as he walked away with their order. Under his breath, he muttered a complaint about "bringing a kid to a restaurant," which Kanon would take offense to, had not everyone else in the restaurant thought the same. Kanon was already dressed pretty bad, but when he dated Fiora, they looked the same age despite being several years apart (which he didn't know until after he met her). Now, as time marched on, she looked older than him (which is natural), making it a little harder to be seen in public.

Speaking about being seen in public, Fiora couldn't get over seeing Kanon act so... friendly with that blonde hair girl. Has he moved on from Fiora? She loved Kanon, but did he not return the favor? Sure, she may have left without a word, but that was Cesare's fault, not her. Sure, she made a big mistake leaving Kanon, but now that she's here... Now that they're here... Why? Why can't they fall back in love again? Why can't they just go back to his place and...?

Kanon had troubles of his own. Still struggling with conflicting feelings, Kanon's head was spinning (figuratively... he certainly didn't want to get any more looks than he already has) to the point that he couldn't think straight. It's been a few years... a LONG few years... since he last saw her. For a while, he even forgot what she looked like... If it wasn't for the nightmares, he might've forgotten all about her, which didn't seem so bad. After all, if he didn't remember her, he wouldn't be feeling so bad. But still, that damn dream comes up almost every single night, sometimes more than once. It drove Kanon crazy enough to consider suicide again, but he stopped himself again and again, still clinging on the belief that fate needed him alive.

Fate... Kanon realized something... What if Fiora was here so they could get back together? What if the nightmares were so he never forgot her? It was a cruel twist of fate, but nevertheless, maybe it was all a carefully orchestrated plan to get them both together. Cesare Borgia, Malfatto, Francesco... It seemed like it was all a coincidence that would allow them to be together...

The waiter came back with their food along with a bottle of wine, to which Fiora and Kanon both accepted. Fiora eagerly popped the bottle herself, which the help of a cork screw, and poured the drink onto a wine glass. She loved the taste of wine, so without hesitating to pour Kanon a glass, she immediately gulped most of it down, sighing that she "needed" that. Kanon went to pour the glass himself, but a sharp look from the waiter made Kanon feel uneasy (he didn't look old enough to drink), so he turned to his dinner.

It was a standard looking pasta dish, nothing special, just regularly portioned and garnished a little bit better, but the taste was absolutely incredible. The pasta was finely cooked, simmered long enough to be soft but firm, and the tomato sauce that complimented it was not watery nor too "dry." It was delicious. Served with some lightly toasted garlic bread sticks that was flavorful without being too overpowered and some fine wine (that LOOKED good) and Kanon could see why Fiora loved this place.

And while Kanon wasn't one for the "fancy" good life, he did notice the quiet, calm atmosphere past all the disturbed stares as well as the light live music playing in the background. The people, dressed sharp, played their instruments skillfully, putting their emotion through the strings, allowing it to feel very powerful. Despite only going to local restaurants with Fiora back then, Kanon felt a little at ease eating in a restaurant: He was so used to just buying a meat, veggie, cheese filled pita bread from a local marketplace and eating it alone on the rooftop.

"Kanon...?" Fiora had to ask after the alcohol calmed her nerves down enough to.

"Yeah?" Kanon slipped a glass for himself when the waiter wasn't looking.

"That woman..." She started to say before retreating back to her glass for a quick confidence boost, "The one with the blonde hair... Is she... Your girl friend?"


	24. Sequence 23 Sense of Values of Wine

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 23: Sense of Values of Wine

[Commencing memory...]

"Is she... Your girl friend?"

Kanon didn't say a word: He shoved that glass into his mouth, drinking as much wine as he might've needed to get out of this situation. In fact, he drank so much so fast that he barely had time to breathe; so naturally, he choked a little, spewing tiny drops of wine all over the air. He gagged and coughed it all out, much to the surprise (and annoyance) of everyone there. Fiora, who was sitting away from Kanon, had to flinch in order to evade.

"W-what?" Kanon managed to cough out while trying to breath in, "W-What do you mean?"

"I thought I was being clear," she muttered, "Is she... your girlfriend?"

Was she? Kanon didn't truly think about it. I guess, at the very least, she was a GIRL who was a FRIEND, but was she anything more than that? Kanon never thought about the possibility of him liking her, but she never showed an interest in liking him... Has she? Kanon doesn't seem to recall a time where she'd show him her feelings... Maybe it was the wine affecting his memory...

"Well?" Fiora wanted an answer, and by the look of her face, she wanted it now.

"Why would it matter?" Kanon had to ask. "Why would it matter to you that she's my girlfriend?" Did he say the wrong thing?

Fiora believed that mistake as the truth, which led her to explain her reasoning. "It's just that... She's so... beautiful that... I'm jealous."

Kanon's eyes rose up. She was jealous? "Wait, YOU'RE... jealous... of ME?" His loud voice attracted some much not wanted attention.

"Am I not allowed?"

"YOU left ME! You left me for that pretty boy, what's his face, Cesare Borgia!" Kanon downed another glass of wine, all while pouring himself another glass. He never drank this much before, but he was somewhat fueled by his anger.

"Kanon, you have to understand why I did it!" Fiora tried to defend herself, "I was scared! I felt like my life was going nowhere, that I had to leave now or else it'd get worse!"

"Well what was wrong with being here with me!" Kanon had raised an interesting point, "What was wrong with being nowhere as long as you were with me?" Kanon looked into Fiora's eyes with such a serious look on his face: He was no longer the goofy, timid young man that she knew.

"You've changed," she smiled at him.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you don't see someone for a few years..." Kanon poured Fiora another glass for her to chug down, "They change."

"Well, what about us? Did we change?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

"While I was gone, did you think about me?" Fiora wanted to know.

Kanon had to think about it... Did he think about her? A flashback to one of his dreams popped into his head, the one where he was lying in a room, in bed, with a naked woman climbing all over him. He doesn't recognize the face, only that he truly loved her. Was it her?

Still, Kanon couldn't tell her that. "No, I didn't."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Not even once?"

"No."

An awkward silence descended on them. They both drank the bottle dry until they had to ask for more. The waiter came over, placing another bottle for Fiora to open. She unscrewed the cork as she did with the previous one, popped that sucker open, and drank it straight from the bottle, much to Kanon's suprise. She had taken more than 10 seconds just gulping the content down, trying to fill her void that she had inside. It did little good.

In fact, it might've made it worse: The wine had stirred up her feelings even more than she could control. She was holding back tears, trying to keep her elegant demeanor (despite chugging down a quater of a bottle of wine), at least in front of Kanon. She looked down at the table, hiding her head away from Kanon in an effort to hide her tears. It didn't help, as Kanon could still see rain drops hitting the fancy table cloth. She was sniffing, but she didn't keep silent.

"I thought of you..." Kanon's eyebrow rose up, as if he was surprised that she said that. Well, obviously, he was surprised to hear her say that, but how should he go about it? He truly wants to make up with her, but he still is just too stubborn to believe that she truly cared about him. And so, he had to ask, ask for confirmation on a matter that bugged him since her return.

"If you thought of me, then why did you just leave without saying a word to me?" Kanon spoke as he took the bottle away from Fiora to pour himself a glass. While still too young to truly appreciate the taste and value of fine wine, after drinking more than his share of a bottle, he figured more shouldn't be a problem. "Why didn't you send me a message? Why didn't you let me know that..." he paused to find the right words, "That you still cared about me. You could've let me know that you were leaving..."

He slammed down another glass quicker than a dehydrated man in a desert with a fresh water canteen before going on with his point, "How did you think I felt? That a woman that I loved more than anything just of all of a sudden up and leave without a word for years?" She poured herself another glass, as if she was automated to just serve drinks (albeit to herself) as she tried to explain her side of the argument.

"You would've stopped me!"

"And this is better? You think that seeing me after a few years of not talking to each other to the point that we're perfect strangers is better!"

"I thought that I'd never see you again!"

"Yeah! Well, here I am!" He waved his arms back to show that he is indeed here in the flesh, waiting for an answer. The entire restaurant was staring at the couple, who had turned up the volume of their voice without realizing it, but still, they didn't realize, or perhaps cared, about how many eyes were on them. They simply cared only about each other.

Fiora had nothing to say. She simply drank her wine as Kanon calmed himself down a little. They had drank more wine than consumed their dinner, which is a shame considering how delicious, well prepared, and high quality it was, but they both knew that food wasn't a way to drown one's sorrow (as they both had to stay in shape for obvious reasons) but wine, and plenty of it. They ordered their third bottle this evening, both splitting it, not saying a single word to each other. They couldn't even look at each other: They stared at their empty glasses with empty eyes, trying to avoid eye contact, as if they were both hiding something.

Glasses were filled up, emptied, and refilled in quick succession, as if they had a deadline for each segment, both doing it in tandem: They were both drinking almost at the exact same time, pouring the glasses one after another, and slamming their clean cups down at the table for more. After the bottle was emptied, the waiter could allow them no more.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that I must cut you off," he said without much sorrow, seeing as how they had caused a disturbance previously.

"Why? Why would you deprive me of such pleasure?" Fiora begged, "I have money... Lots of it. Why can't I have more?" She was seriously down in the dumps, not even looking up at the man as she spoke. Kanon didn't even have the heart to say anything about getting the money from Cesare Borgia, though Kanon himself wasn't exactly chipper.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." the waiter reasoned, "I can't be held responsible if you drink too much. In fact, we would like to ask you to leave, as you don't seem okay. Do you want a doggy bag for those leftovers?"

There was a considerably sizable amount of food that crowded their plates, so naturally, Kanon, who isn't exactly affording a life of luxury, takes him up on that offer to take home the leftovers. As he did, he slipped in a equally sizable chunk of "change" to the waiter, asking him to smuggle him another bottle of the same wine for Fiora. The waiter was initially against it, but all Kanon had to do was point at the fallen tear drops lying on the cloth, and the waiter instantly agreed to grab them an extra bottle for when Kanon takes her home.

With a bag to carry their food, as well as a hidden bottle of wine, Kanon helped Fiora stand up straight by allowing her to use his body as support. She still said nothing as Kanon walked to his house, not knowing where Fiora would stay as she was hiding from Cesare, hoping that under the circumstances that it'd be okay.


	25. Sequence 24 Sense of Values of Wine 2

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 24: Sense of Values of Wine (Part 2)

[Commencing memory in progress...]

Kanon walked down the lonely streets of Rome as he carried Fiora on his back. Again, people pretty much glared at Kanon, but he didn't pay them no mind this time around: He was already lost in his mind to see the outside world. He brushed past many people, as if he didn't see them, much to the anger of several citizens. But before they even have a chance to get mad, Kanon just simply walked further along the road, not leaving any time for confrontation.

The streets of Rome looked beautiful under the shine of the moonlight: What other city could boast such a elegant demeanor in the buildings, the wide open fields that seemed to stretch towards the horizon, and such a calm atmosphere despite the numerous people that thrive within? It was almost a paradise, so close to Heaven, had it not been put under Borgia rule. Kanon, born in a small town far away from here, always wanted to move to a bigger city, and after he became a top rank recruit for the Assassins, got the transfer to Rome. Sure, his mission hasn't been completed, but with a mission this big, there was no way to finish it within the year, or even the decade.

What was his mission, the same mission that brought him here, the same mission that he took so long to complete (though the numerous distractions did bring him off trail)? Kanon knew it well, but rather than trying to figure out how to complete it, he wondered more about why he was picked for the mission: He never understood why he was chosen. For a mission this big, he shouldn't have been picked as he was just a regular apprentice (despite his numerous accomplishments)... Why not choose a seasoned veteran, or for a mission on this scale, a team full of them? How is Kanon, who alone had been sent to do this, get the mission done?

Fiora's slight snoring distracted Kanon from his train of thought, which allowed him a breath of relief. Kanon wasn't known for being the sharpest tool in the shed, nor is he "leadership" material. He didn't become a leader: He just made friends who acknowledged his rank. As for his abilities, while he was a strong, albeit unorthodox, swordsman, along with an excellent aim with crossbows and guns, he never questioned what his mission was or the best way to accomplish it: He simply winged it, with fate guiding the course of action. If he was meant to complete the mission, then fate will see to it that he would.

Fate... Kanon still had to wonder about him and Fiora. She was here, he was here, nothing stopped them... So why did they hesitate? Why not take full advantage of their coincidence? Hell, she was already drunk, tipsy to the point where if Kanon didn't hold her up, that she'd slip out from behind him. And he's already taking her to the warm comforts of his home...

Sooner than he thought, he stood outside his house; He was so lost in his thoughts that time must've passed him by. He opened the locked door, walked up the flight of stairs that led to his room, and lied Fiora down on his bed. Her face glowed from under the direct exposure from the moonlight, making her look more radiant than ever before. She was calm in her drunken slumber, almost to the point where she looked... cute. Her face was slightly red from the lure of alcohol, and the drool that seeped out from the corner of her mouth was so cute that even Kanon blushed.

Kanon had turned to leave the room, in order to crash on the poor, pathetic excuse of the couch that was placed in what could be scarcely called a "living room," when Fiora awoke. She didn't look tired like one would do if they had been sleeping for a few minutes just to wake right back up... Was she faking her slumber as well? Serious déjà vu Kanon felt as he wanted to just leave the room. But Fiora called out to him...

"Kanon?" Kanon turned around to acknowledge her, and for a split second, he could swear that Crystal sat in his bed.

[Error: Slight synchronization destability error. Correcting... Fixed. Updating... Complete. Stabilizing now...]

He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, not realizing the strange "glitch" that corrupted the situation. When his eyes opened wide, he no longer saw Crystal, but Fiora, as she stared back with longing eyes. Kanon blinked rapidly, trying to readjust to what was going on... Was Fiora holding a bottle of wine in her hands?

Fiora uncorked the new bottle of wine that Kanon had bought for her. Kanon checked his person for the missing bottle of wine... When did she take it? He still had the doggie bag of food that he took home, which he placed on the dresser, and went over to Fiora as she, once again, drank the contents straight out of the bottle, not caring about making sure she drank the proper amount. Kanon had to try to reprimand her.

"Come on Fiora," Kanon worried, "That's enough for today."

Fiora whined a little, downright pouting. "Why?"

"Because you drank enough already."

"But I just opened it..." she tried to reason, "We could share this... There's enough for both of us, and it would mean that I wouldn't drink much more..."

Sounds crazy, but makes sense: If Kanon were to share this bottle of wine with her, then she would drink less... I mean, it's not as if Kanon could stop her from bloody well drinking the entire bottle, so why not? He sighed, gave in, and asked for the bottle with his body language. He grabbed the bottle and took a mouthful of wine down the gullet... Odd that the first time Kanon would drink that he'd take it this far, but what did he know? He was still awfully young, way younger than Fiora...

They both sat on the bed, taking turns drinking the wine straight from the bottle (because who carries wine glasses in the bedroom?). They kept alternating to the point where it had became a mindless routine: Grab the bottle, crush a bit, little bit, roll it up, and take a hit. However, it was when they were mindless that Kanon had accidentally spilled some wine on Fiora's clothes while passing the bottle.

"Whoa!" Kanon exclaimed as he flinched back, "I'm so sorry about that! Here, lemme find you something to wear." He tried to get up from the bed, but her voice held him back.

"That's okay," she whispered in his ear, "I don't need any clothes." Kanon didn't turn around, but he definitely heard Fiora taking off her clothes, which sent chills down his spine. He tried to leave the room, but her arms wrapped around his body. "See? All better now..."

Kanon's head was slightly spinning... What was going on? The wine must've started to take its toll on Kanon, masking his emotions over, making his head so confused that if it wasn't for gravity, he couldn't tell up from down. But Fiora could, because as soon as she left go, she plopped onto the bed, covering herself underneath the covers.

"W-well," Kanon stammered, trying to get a grip on himself, "I'm going to crash on the couch. I'll be back." He once again tried to leave, this time actually touching the door handle, but once again, she stopped him.

"Kanon?"

"Yeah?" he replied, not turning around, "You... You need something?"

A moment of silence filled the room. Kanon's eyes kept staring straight at the door, as if he was waiting for an elevator (that didn't exist back then but you get the metaphor) while Fiora tried to find the right words to say what she wanted.

"Rape me."

Kanon's eyes widened, shifting back and forth from left to right. His heart was pounding against his chest so hard that it felt like it could just burst right out. What did she just say? More importantly, was she serious?

"What!"

"I was just joking..." Fiora muttered. "A joke, it was a joke." Figures, Kanon thought that Fiora had drunk way more than she should have, so she was kinda loopy. She probably didn't even realize the things she said, let alone mean them. I mean, with enough drinks, you could make anyone say anything without forcing a gun to their head... But the next thing that came out of Kanon's mouth, although must've been due to the wine, came out of his mouth willingly.

"Well, what if... I didn't take it as one?"

Today made Kanon realize something... He was lucky to have a woman like Fiora. She was as beautiful as a goddess, and considering their age gap, most woman would find that taboo, or people in general for that matter considering how many dirty looks he got when he was with her, but not Fiora... She loved him for who he is. And how could Kanon pass that up? Kanon may not know what he wanted in life, so who's to say that she isn't what he wanted? And better yet, she wants him... She smiled back and laid out her arms, beckoning him to the bed.

And he acknowledged: He went over there, heart pounding and knees shaking, to the woman he loves, and got into the bed with her. They kissed each other passionately, warming up her bare skin with his body. Her lips caressed his as he ran his fingers though her body. She may have been older, but her skin was as smooth as silk, offering no resistance to stop his fingers dead in its tracks. She couldn't feel her skin, as Kanon still donned his Assassin attire, but she was satisfied enough to be in bed with Kanon, and hugged him tightly as they went under the covers, as the empty bottle of wine lied underneath the wooden posts of the bed, gleaming beneath the moonlight.


	26. Sequence 25 Good Morning

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 25: Good Morning

[Caution: Memory isn't located within Kanon's archive...]

[Awaiting response...]

[Warning: Subject is at risk if memory is allowed to proceed. Subject WILL receive possibily incurable side effects. Continue...?]

[Awaiting user response...]

[Cancelling memo-]

[...]

[User response overwritten/]

[Proceeding with memory...]

[Loading...]

[Commencing memory...]

"Damn that bitch!"

A loud noise echoed throughout the tavern: Crystal had just slammed down her bottle of wine hard onto the hard table surface. Everyone had stared at the woman as she took another bottle of wine and flushed it down her gullet. Thomas was impressed that she could hold her breath that long.

"What the hell are you, a fish?"

Crystal glared back at Thomas with such intensity that Thomas could've sworn that he felt the stare through the blindfold, as if it was the heat emitted from the sun. He even had to face another direction to avoid the full blast of it.

"Would it have helped if I called you an 'angelfish?'"Thomas smirked as he nervously used his index finger to slightly scratch his cheek.

Crystal didn't pay him no mind: She was as confused as a guppy in a school of trout, trying to figure out what she means to others as she tries to find where she belongs, so until then, she's drowning her sorrows in fine wine. Thomas on the other hand, practically didn't touch the bottle of wine at all, as Crystal was a very selfish drunk. She hogged all the bottles to herself, with Thomas only delegated to the job of poppin' bottles.

"Keep them coming!" Crystal shouted as she polished down another bottle, her face red from the drinks, her body slouching on the chair. She could barely keep her eyes open, though that didn't stop her from drinking: She need only hold the glass as Thomas filled it up.

"You should probably cut back Crystal," Thomas expressed his concerns, "This is your third bottle already. And if the first bottle's any indication, you look to be a VERY mean drunk..."

Crystal hiccupped, something that all typical drunks do, and did see how much she drank. Maybe she did have enough... After all, she didn't want to do anything she would regret... Well, what would she do that she would regret anyway? Thomas was a very trusting friend... He would never take advantage of Crystal, or anyone for that matter, so she had nothing to fear.

"Thomas...?" she slurred.

"Yeah?"

"Take me home?"

Thomas smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'll take you home."

They left the bar, much to the relief of everyone there as they caused a major disturbance, and decided t head back to her house. Thomas carried Crystal on his back, much akin to the same way Kanon held Fiora, as they walk past the crowd of people roaming the streets late at night. However, unlike Kanon and Fiora, people found this scene to be somewhat romantic rather than disturbing and foul.

Which was odd considering how neither character had any feelings towards one another. The love Kanon and Fiora shared felt genuine, but Thomas and Crystal shared friendship with each other, being nothing more than good friends. They helped each other through their dark times, their painful moments, and their good memories.

Thomas opened the door back to her place, which seems a lot dirtier than it used too. Fair enough, he supposed, as they have all been on missions after missions for so long that they rarely hanged home all day during their time off. Thomas knew where her bedroom was, so he proceeded to carry her there. Upon opening the door, a gust of dust flew into Thomas's face, signifying how long it's been since the last time someone came in.

"Sorry about that," Crystal apologized, "But I haven't cleaned the bedroom for a long time: Nothing ever happens in there."

"What a crime," Thomas joked as he walked into the room. He set her on the bed, placing her lightly, being sure not to have dropped her.

"Thanks for bringing me home," Crystal expressed her gratitude.

"No problem," Thomas smiled, "Least I can do. You did buy me dinner after all." He paused for a moment to assess Crystal's status: She simply had too much wine, especially for someone who rarely drinks. Then that thought occurred to Thomas... "Why the hell did you drink so much, especially in public? Everyone was looking at us..."

"I know," she apologized yet again, "I wasn't thinking. I just... I saw Kanon with that woman and I just..." Crystal shut up right there, but the red on her face says it all: She was in love with Kanon, and now that a more beautiful woman came along, she's jealous of her as well as afraid that she would take him away.

"Is that what's been bugging you?" Thomas had to ask.

"Shut up!" she called back defensively, trying not to embarrass herself to Thomas, "It's not that I like Kanon, it's just..."

"Lemme guess," Thomas figured out, "You're afraid that he doesn't love you back?"

Crystal blushed even more, her head resembling a ripe cherry tomato, causing her to hide her head into the deep tissue of her pillow. Thomas found the gesture to be quite adorable, smiling as he heard the motions of her actions. He even snickered a few times, much to the chagrin of Crystal.

"Ok, let me spin this on you then!" Crystal argued, muffling from under her pillow, "Enough about who I like, what about you!"

"Me?" Thomas slyly points his finger at himself, "Why do you need to know that? What, jealous of my lady friend?"

Crystal burst out from under her pillow. "Jealous?" she remarked, "Of someone dating you! As if!" She stuck her tongue out at Thomas, who just turned his head away.

"Well, if you're not jealous, then why are you concerned?"

"...Well," Crystal started off, "I just wanna know if you liked girls..."

"Of course I like girls..." Thomas frowned slightly. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't like females." he muttered sarcastically.

"I'm not saying that you don't," Crystal tried to reason, "I was just asking."

"Asking for what?"

Crystal hesitated for a moment, twirling her fingers through her long, blonde hair, before revealing her true intentions: "Do you... find me attractive?"

Thomas's eyebrows rose. "What? Why are you even asking such a thing?"

"Well, I AM a woman," she pouted slightly, slightly taken back as if Thomas didn't considered her a woman, or anything of the sort, "I was just concerned about my looks. I mean, there are so many girls prettier than me that I just..."

"Oh, I get it," Thomas acknowledged, "You're afraid that Fiora's more attractive than you. Well don't you worry about that," he reassured, "You're a beautiful woman, and any man would be lucky to have you."

Crystal blushed, but she kept her defenses up, "S-shut up, you sound like you're in love with me..." She looked out her window, at least to avoid making eye contact... Despite wearing that bandanna, Thomas always seems to be staring at you with his eyes, as if there was a set of eyes painted on it. It was creepy, and at moments like these, simply unbearable: It's like you think you're safe when you put your hand in the cookie jar, but you can't help but feel that someone's watching you, as if the walls have eyes.

"Well, anyway," Thomas said to break the silence, "It's getting late, I should go." He gets up off the bed, dusts the dust off his clothes, and proceeded to leave the room. Crystal, all along, looks at the mirror located on the wall to take a good look at herself: She was slightly messed up from drinking, but other than that, she was stunning. It was just too bad that she didn't see it herself, as she constantly compared herself to other woman, especially those like Fiora, who was simply graced with such a set of skin.

Crystal thought about Kanon... She wondered if he loved her, or if he just assumed she was a teammate and nothing more. Funny, it's been years since that one incident in her room with Kanon, which should've been a clear marker on Kanon's view on Crystal, but Crystal still hasn't gotten over the fact that he simply refused her, not even bringing up the topic at all. Did he truly care so little for her, when she cares so much? The thought of Kanon loving her stimulated her... enough to slowly slide her fingers down her clothes, from her chest to her toes, making a pit stop halfway...

[Memory sequence is complete.]

[Would you like to rest and run diagnostics on test subject before proceeding?]

[WARNING: Refusing to allow the test subject to rest may result in-]

[WARNING: Refusing to allow a set of diagnostics to check up on the test subject may result in-]

[...]

[Proceeding with session. Returning to current memory...]

[Loading...]

The sunlight was magnified through the windows, beaming onto Kanon's face. He groaned to himself, refusing to wake up, clinging to the age old saying "Just five more minutes." But the sunlight didn't falter, and Kanon wasn't going to be able to sleep with it shining against his face, so with nothing better to do, he woke up.

He sat up from the pillow and rubbed his face, trying to get a good sense of the world by having his eyes adjust to the morning sun. His hair was slightly messed up, due to the length of which he grew it, but that was of little concern to someone who would probably be wearing a hood. So instead, he focused on his attire, which was strangely still clinging to his body... Why did he go to bed in his Assassin's clothes? He tried to think, but the apparent hangover rammed his head, making it hurt more than it should.

"Damn it, why did I drink so much...?

Something felt odd... Kanon thought to himself as he rubbed the back of his head, that one line was said by two people. Kanon tried to think of all the possibilities of all the results that it could've been, and when he finally found out what, his eyes shot open: Sitting up in bed just like him was Fiora Cavazza, who lied naked underneath the covers. They both stared into each other's eyes, not knowing what to say.


	27. Sequence 26 That's All She Wrote

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 26: That's All She Wrote

[Commencing memory...]

But perhaps words weren't meant to be spoken in a moment like this, so instead of words exiting throughout his mouth, he simply screamed as if he woke up to a ghost staring at him in the face, jumping back far enough to launch off the bed and onto the floor. And wouldn't luck have it that that the bottle of wine that put them in this predicament would be so perfectly placed that Kanon would step on it on his way off, rolling him off the bottle, plunging him to the hardwood floor...

After making a few stops... He banged his head on the nearby window still, which knocked down a small vase of flowers onto his head for a double hit combo, finishing it off by landing on his stomach. He coughed from the impact before picking up the vase to replace it on the window still. "What the hell!" he shouted as he got back up.

Fiora was surprised herself: The look on her face was one of genuine confusion... How the hell does she not remember sleeping on Kanon's bed with her clothes off? She kinda tugged the covers over her breasts in an attempt to cover them up, though not without showing off a bit of her cleavage... It's more or less "What's the point if he's already seen them?" kinda thing. Still, she felt a little cold under the covers, so she covered up for the most part... Well, the good part anyway.

"What happened last night?" Fiora asked Kanon, as she couldn't recall the events of last night... Not that she regret it by the way, but... Actually, wait a minute... If they can't recall what happened last night, then what REALLY did happen that night? "What did we do? Did we...?"

Kanon tried to remember, but for the life in him, he can't, as if it was just a blur between arguing in the restaurant and waking up this morning. I mean, if he was in such a bad mood with Fiora then, then how the hell did he end up in this predicament? He recalled the feelings of hate and resentment against Fiora, the argument, and the silent drinking, but seeing as he was home with Fiora who's naked in bed, what exactly happened within that time frame?

"I," Kanon stuttered, "I dunno... I mean, I hope we didn't..." He paused there in order to explain himself, "Well, that's not to say that I would've regretted it, but I just hoped we didn't because... Well, it wouldn't be because you're a bad choice if that's what you're wondering, but it's just that... It's just that I..."

He was so over the place that he couldn't even think straight, let alone get his words out right. Fiora didn't really have much to think about: She loved Kanon, she did it with him... What's to wonder about? Her virginity? Trust me, that was WAY gone before she even met Kanon... Still, she's been with plenty of men who failed to... please... her, so she did kind of wonder if Kanon was any better than the rest, but even if he wasn't, he would be over time.

Kanon looked down from where he was standing: Downright at his legs was a lone bottle of wine, dry from any drops of the grape juice, with no set of glasses around... Well, Kanon didn't exactly own a set of wine glasses, but that was beside the point. He picked up the bottle and presented it at the light, wondering if this bottle had been the culprit of this little scenario...

"Don't think about it so much," Fiora tried to calm Kanon, who wasn't exactly hysterical JUST YET, "its okay... We're both grownups, so we did a grown up thing. Come on, we got work to do." She got up from the bed, not shy anymore about her body (though Kanon seriously blushed upon seeing the backside of Fiora Cavazza) as she found the pile of clothes on the ground that belonged to her. She picked them up, but drops of wine fell to the ground like tears, indicating that they were too dirty for a woman of her status to be wearing.

"Kanon, do you have any clothes I can borrow?" she asked politely as she deemed the set inoperatable. Kanon, nervous out of his mind, tried to walk casually over to her so he could find her something to wear, but he just couldn't get over the fact that she was naked: It's as if a beautiful goddess had descended down onto their world; Just the presence of the goddess alone would make anyone nervous, let alone having her naked.

"Y-Yeah," Kanon stuttered, "I got a closet of these Assassin's outfit. You can pick one to wear, since you're practically one of us now." He went into a door and swung it open, revealing rows of these Assassins's uniform hanging around. He picked up a clean set and handed it to her, which pleased her. She wore the costume, putting on the armor and garb, and suited up her weapons. "What, no underwear?" Kanon asked.

"Well, it's not like I need to," she reasoned, "I mean, the suit already protects me enough anyway, and the outfit feels a lot heavier than my regular clothes." She tightened some of the looser clothing on to her skin, making it so that she'd be quieter while running, as hearing the clothes flap in the wind can get annoying quick. "Still, I'm VERY surprised that your costume fits me... It's like we're the same exact size..."

"Yeah well, don't expect me to try on any of your clothes," Kanon smirked, now more comfortable that she was fully clothed. They exited the premise and head towards the meeting spot with Francesco, along with about dozens upon dozens, if not more, Assassins lying in wait with heavy combat gear on. Something big was going to go down, and these guys were ready for it.

"You're late," Francesco pointed out, as if they didn't notice, "What took you so long?"

"Um..." Kanon had to think of something, "We... We overslept. Yeah... You know, mornings... One day, someone's going to invent something that'll wake us up on time." Well, that wasn't necessarily a LIE... but it sounded good.

"Is that all that happened?"

"Yes," he tried to play it off, "Nothing happened."

"Then why is she wearing your clothes?" he asked, nothing that they both had the same figure... Which was odd, especially since Fiora already had a slim figure with some very round curves... which makes it all the more noticeable.

"She spilled wine on her clothes," Kanon rationalized, trying not to get some assumptions (read: Correct guesses) implanted in their heads, "She had nothing to change into so I let her borrow a set of MY clothes. We done with the 20 questions?"

"So let me get this straight," Francesco wanted to clear up, "You were drinking together... She spilled wine on her clothes so she had to take them off... and now you've both arrived here, late because you overslept, with her wearing your clothes? And I'm supposed to assume that nothing happened, especially with Fiora's occupation?"

A brief awkward silence, which was a reoccurring occurrence in this city, fell onto Fiora and Kanon, who just merely blushed and looked away, not realizing that in by saying nothing, they've said a whole lot more (because you know, something is more than nothing unless that nothing means nothing... Got it so far?). It wasn't until Kanon somewhat cracked under the silence that he spoke up.

"Aren't we supposed to be killing Templar Agents?" Kanon so desperately wanted to change the topic, "So let's get to it! Who's first?"

"Very well then," Francesco smiled, not at Kanon's eagerness, but at his somewhat immature response, "We will start with attacking a major player in Cesare's army: Rocco Tiepolo."

"Him?" Fiora asked, "I guess I agree, he seems to be the best choice."

"Who's Rocco Tiepolo?" Kanon questioned, noticing that they seemed to know who he is. Despite Kanon's skills as an Assassin, as well as commanding a small group, he is still such a young player in the ranks, and obviously, is withheld a LOT of information.

"Rocco Tiepolo is a mercenary that supplied Cesare with plenty of soldiers for him to utilize," Francesco explained, "He trained them all to be strong, and at a high rate: He's training more men than we could kill. So if we could take him out, Cesare's forces would be scrambled, and each man we kill will deliver a sharp blow to the Borgia."

"Rocco will not be alone," Fiora warned, "He always has an army of his own with him at all times."

"Which is why we brought one of our own," Francesco answered, showing off a good number of Assassin troops behind him. They were well trained, all with high valuable equipment, showing off their rank. Kanon wasn't as big as these guys, but his skills were definitely on par. "We will strike soon; I've heard that he's leading a group of men over here. All we must do now is wait."

Kanon agreed with the plan, and sat down to rest. After a few minutes, they heard loud calls echoing from over the hills. The Assassins were called into action, and Francesco ordered them to wait until the entire group was seen. Not much longer, Rocco Tiepolo, a man clad in armor with some fancy clothing to signify rank riding a horse, went over the hills, but with much more than a group of soldiers: Hundreds of soldiers followed suit, much to the worry of everyone there.

"Oh my..." Francesco muttered.

"Goodness..." Fiora whispered.

"We can take them." Kanon shrugged.


	28. Sequence 27 All Falls Down

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 27: All Falls Down

[Commencing memory...]

Dozens of guards lay slain on the ground, but that didn't deter others from running straight into the kill zone: Every Assassin was outnumbered by at least a dozen guards, but it seems as if it was still an unfair advantage... For the Assassins I mean (what? Saw that one coming?): While most of the middle ranking Assassins simply swiped the guards as they came by in the gut with their swords, the more higher ranking ones, a.k.a. the more skillful, flourished in their moves using smaller, more wieldy weapons, killing enemies with momentum driving them forward, their grace turning the carnage into a painting.

Perhaps painting may have been a little bit of a strange comparison to grasp, as an artist doesn't just splash paint onto his canvas like the blood of the enemies have been doing, but rather a dance musical, where each Assassin moved with such fluid motion that they resembled a white blur, as if they were the interpretation of the cold wind that blew into the battlefield. Sure, the blood flying in the air, spewing everywhere, was a little too macabre for many others to truly appreciate the art of killing, but to anyone watching; they cannot deny the feelings that dwell inside them.

Assassins were trained to kill since birth if possible: The Order doesn't take lightly to many recruits since most of them wash out after the rigorous training that they must go through, but once you were an Assassin, you became a killing machine. Take Rohan for example: It was only a week ago that he was gulping down his health potions, trying to stop the blood from trickling out of his wounds, still struggling to resheathe his knives, but now, he had slashed a man in the stomach, tossed two knives into the necks of two unsuspecting men, and finished the fourth with his hidden Blade, all in one fell swoop. Several of the higher ranking Assassins were impressed with his valor, adding to Rohan's happiness to earn their approval.

However, while the Assassin's were good, they weren't machines: They can grow tired, make mistakes, and can even fall in battle. Several of the Assassins were killed in the heat of battle: One Assassin, unaware of an archer perched up top, was shot in the leg by his bolt, allowing another to stab him in the chest, killing him slowly. Another Assassin had his arm cut off, forcing him into shock, allowing him for easy pickings. And one other had been shot in the head by a gunman, ending his short 15 years of life.

"There's too many of them!" Francesco shouted under the mist of all the clashing swords and whooping and hollering. He blocked a man's sword slash with the metal vambrace located on his arm before proceeding to return the favor by slitting his throat in one clean swipe.

"We have to hold off!" Fiora shouted, holding her own by taking advantage of her metal blade to slice the guards in the back of their legs, allowing them to fall, finishing them off with the stiletto of her heel. "Where the hell's Rocco!"

Kanon thought about that; Where DID he go? He tried to think back to the events that lead up to this: After constructing a plan to hide the Assassins at nearby chokepoints in the city, they had gotten the drop on the soldiers by cutting off their escape routes by destroying scaffolds of wood, causing an avalanche of tree logs that wiped out a good number of troops. The initial attack was successful, as during the confusion of being ambushed, each Assassin had leaped from their hiding spot, killing anywhere from one to three soldiers, greatly reducing the number into something more manageable.

Still, even with the advantage of a preemptive strike, the Assassins were still undermanned, and even though the skill gap was so far out there, with so many of them, even the slightest miscalculation can spell death. However, the whole point of this attack was to take out Rocco Tiepolo, in order to put a screeching halt to Cesare's army development, but now, he was for the most part, unseen.

Where did he go? Kanon had ensured that all routes of escape were cut, forcing everyone into this giant rumble pit of an arena (or coliseum, considering their location), so where the hell did he run off to? Kanon had looked around, trying to get a fix on his location, and by a stroke of luck, managed to see him after an Assassin had slashed three guards out of his way: Rocco Tiepolo, being secured by several of what seems to be some of his highest ranking men, had forced their way into a building. While several of the soldiers were shot down, Rocco had simply pushed their bodies out of his way, not caring about them at all, before proceeding inside for himself, locking his other soldiers out, dooming them to the Assassin's gunfire.

"I see him!" Kanon shouted as he slashed the next guy in front of him, making his way towards Rocco.

"Kanon, wait!" Fiora cried out as he bolted out of there.

"Don't be reckless!" Francesco warned as he struggled to keep up, but there was too many soldiers in the way that even he couldn't kill them all in time to catch up with Kanon, who's gliding past everyone with some sleek acrobatics: He had front flip over an Assassin stabbing a soldier, vaulted over a stack of dead bodies, and even used one of the soldier's head as a jump point. But before he could see where Kanon went off to, he and Fiora were quickly surrounded by several more soldiers, not knowing that they've just lined up for a slaughter.

Kanon rushed into the building alone, breaking in through a window by jumping right through it. It was an empty bar, a place where people can unwind after a hard day of work. "Wine?" Kanon asked himself as he examined his surroundings, "Damn it.. If I don't see another bottle of wine, it'd be all too so-"

Before he could finish, he was promptly hit in the back of the head with a wine bottle, sending him to the ground, losing his sword in the process. "Hey hey," he shouted as he groaned from the pain, rubbing the back of his head, "That was rude. Could've at least let me finished..."

His assailant paid no mind: He picked Kanon up by his hood and slammed him right back down to the ground repeatedly. Kanon felt his face hit the hardwood floor, each time making him much angrier than before. Kanon finally got the sense to spring himself back up, head butting his chin with the back of his [Kanon's] head, effectively allowing Kanon to break free. He rolled out from his reach and spun around, allowing him to see his enemy: Rocco Tiepolo, with his long hair and fancy clothes, as well as that stream of blood gushing from his mouth, glared angrily at Kanon, drawing his blade.

"What? You attacked me!" Kanon shouted as the man charged right at him, dodging to his right to avoid the slash of his sword. Rocco missed his mark and accidentally broke several of the wine bottles that stood on display, causing a waterfall of red wine, making the floor slippery. "I'll just put that on your tab." Kanon smirked, trying to get into Rocco's head.

"I'm going to [-] MURDER you!" he shouted as he goes to slash him again, still missing.

"Sheesh," Kanon mocked as he dodged another swing, indicating that he was getting to him, allowing him to rush recklessly, "You kiss your mother with that mouth? Well, probably not, because you're one ugly-"

He stopped right there to avoid another swing, but he was sure that the big guy got the message loud and clear. Rocco kept trying to stab Kanon, but to no avail: Kanon, despite all the gear he donned, was incredibly swift and agile, allowing for easy escapes.

"Stand still already!" Rocco screamed as he was starting to get frustrated, "Just die already!" He was then smacked in the face with a bottle of wine that Kanon chucked at him after making that statement, knocking him out cold.

"Well geez," Kanon smirked, "No need to WHINE about it... You could've asked nicely." Kanon stood over the body, seeing Rocco lying as still as a mannequin, with his face all bloody from the impact from the bottle. Kanon went to pick up the bottle that he threw at him, remarking that "Should've sprung for the good stuff... See, THIS bottle knocks people out." He then tossed the bottle aside, and then, within a moment's hesitation, lunged into the man's chest, sliding the knife between the man's set of ribs straight into his heart, slowly killing him.

"With this many men following you," Kanon started to pray as he closed his eyes, trying not to see the man struggle to cling for his life, trying to drown out the gurgling sounds the blood gushing out made, "It's no doubt that you're a natural leader. You've got a great power, Rocco, but you're not very responsible with it. Hopefully you'll have a chance to do right." Kanon shoved the blade deeper into him, hopefully allowing the man to die faster, ending his suffering. As soon as Kanon felt the heart stop beating, he gets up from his spot and turns towards the exit.

He opens the door, letting his eyes gaze upon the hundreds of soldiers who lied beneath his feet. The corpses littered all over the kill zone, and while most of them belonged to the soldiers, some of them, which was some too many, lied in between. While Kanon didn't care about the enemy, several of the Assassins he recognized, including the young blood Rohan, who had been stabbed multiple times, indicated by the numerous lines of blood on his clothes. His eyes wide open in fear, presumably after he got stabbed; Kanon did the only thing he could do: He closed both their eyes, praying that "He had much potential, and that he would be compensated for it."

Fiora and Francesco had rushed once they spotted Kanon. "Is it done?" Francesco asked.

"Yeah," Kanon nodded sadly, "It's done."

"Kanon..." Fiora tried to comfort him, but Kanon was too worried about something that he thought that he wouldn't have to think about again: What if the little boy he had rescued and recruited into the Assassin's Guild, ends up like Rohan? Kanon looked down at Rohan, recalling his horrified face as he died... Kanon didn't want his life to end like that, and he definitely didn't want want the little boy to as well.


	29. Sequence 28 The Bouncer

[Accessing memory...]

[...]

[An error has occurred.]

[Running diagnostics...]

[Complete.]

[Virus detected! Delete?]

[Error - Virus has now locked down controls for this computer.]

[Virus now proceeding to delete archives and Animus 2.0 software.]

[...]

[Virus deleted. Recovering from damage...]

[Recovery complete.]

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 28: The Bouncer

[Commencing memory...]

Dozens of children ran through the obstacle course, all determined to make it towards the end as fast as they could. They leaped past the ditches dug by the teachers, scaled the piles of logs that tower in front of them, and tossed knives sharp as nails into the plentiful dummies scattered throughout the playground.

"New kid," an announcer called out from his viewpoint, "Pick up the pace!"

One of the new Assassin trainee was far behind from everyone else, lagging behind as he constantly ran and stop (to catch his breath) like a tired old horse. He struggled to keep up with the other kids, but no matter how fast he ran, the other kids were just better than him, already running twice as long without breaking a sweat and hitting their targets in one clean shot. They didn't say anything to him however, as they were all once like him, but then again, they all trained together, growing stronger with one another...

No one knew how hard it was for him to catch up. No one knew how much he struggled to even TRY to catch up. And most importantly... No one knew how he was feeling.

The new guy felt extremely useless: He stumbled around while running a lot, almost tripping over his own feet in the process. He wasn't trained in throwing knives yet, so the knives merely bounced off the wooden targets like rocks off of a building. And when trying to scale over the obstacles, he lost his grip several times, hurling towards the ground repeatedly before making it through. And quite obviously, he was the last one ot finish the course, with none of his targets hit.

"Alright everyone, gather around," the announcer announced as the children all huddled up, "Great work out there today; I'm very impressed with the results. Well, there isn't anything left to do, so why don't you guys hit the baths and call it a day?" The children all nodded in agreement before running off the the nearest bathhouse, all excited in having the rest of the days to themselves. The new recruit didn't follow them however: He just sat on a set of logs, breathing heavily, not even huddling up with the other kids when told. His head was faced downward, hiding his face from the sun that hung over him.

"Here."

A shadow loomed into his view, causing him to look up. Kanon, the silver haired Assassin who had brought him here, stood in front of him with a glass of cold water in his hands, offering it to him. The boy took it graciously, drinking the cool contents right then and there, letting the liquid hit the back of his parched throat. After chugging about half the glass, he sighed a breath of relief before proceeding to toss the remaining contents on his face, cooling himself off after hydrating.

"That was some good work out there today," Kanon encouraged as he took the glass back.

"What are you talking about?" the boy asked quizzingly, "I did horrible: I couldn't keep up with the other kids, I couldn't hit any of the targets, and I was the last to finish. How was that good?"

"Because you didn't give up," Kanon explained, "Those kids have been training for years to be able to do those things. Hell, anyone could learn to do that if they really wanted to. But what they CAN'T learn to do is to never give up. See, people in your shoes would've up and quit right then and there, but you got back up, stuck it through, and finished the course."

The boy didn't look at it that way. After pondering it over, he realized that Kanon was right: Sure, there's some shame that he was the last person to run the course, but he never gave up despite wanting to many times, and that says a lot about him. "Thanks for that," the boy smiled at Kanon, who merely patted him on the head.

"Bathhouse's that way," Kanon pointed out both physically and verbally, "If you hurry, you can catch up with the other kids." The boy nodded his head and acknowledged Kanon, but he chose to remain here for a while, catching his breath. Kanon had other business to attend to, choosing to ask about the boy's decision to become an Assassin another time. Rohan's death, a recruit/friend that was recently killed in battle, still stood out in Kanon's mind, and despite the boy's dreams of becoming a hero, Kanon had to make sure that this is truly what he wants.

Bu he couldn't dwell on it long however, as standing outside of the obstacle course was Thomas, his blind friend and partner. He took one hard look around the course (despite not being able to see it) and smiled at his previous achievement to have ran through the course in record time in his first try. Upon hearing Kanon come up, he turned towards him and greeted him.

"Thomas?" Kanon questioned, "What are you doing here?"

"We got another mission boss," Thomas walked and talked, "Francesco has a plan for us. Come on, I'll explain it along the way." Kanon followed him out of the course and walked into the city streets, making their way to their destination as Thomas explained the mission to him.

"Well, we took down Rocco Tiepolo quite easily thanks to you and your plan, as well as taking down plenty of soldiers with him. So now, Cesare's forces are in scrambles, trying to replenish what they lost. With this in mind, Francesco found out a way to strike even harder at Cesare before we head on towards the next target on Fiona's list."

"What is it?" Kanon asked.

"Francesco had received word from our informants that Cesare's men are in a panic, so they're living it up in fear that they're going to die the next day. Drinking, eating, women... You name it, they're doing it. So now, there's hundreds of men hanging out with courtesans in brothels."

"Don't we control the courtesans?" Kanon asked as politely as he could, trying as hard as he could trying not to sound like a sex slave owner (or a pimp). "Why doesn't we order all the courtesans to stealth kill all off Cesare's men?"

"We did," Thomas answered, "Our courtesans are ordered to seduce and kill any of Cesare's men. But there's more to it than that. It turns out that after a while, Cesare must've realized that none of his soldiers are coming back, so he found a rival brothel to send his men to, a brothel that we don't control."

"So what's the plan?"

"Francesco heard from an undercover courtesan we planted in that brothel that Cesare's planning a huge party, with food, women, music, the works. What he wants us to do is to blow up the support beams of the buildings to collapse it on top of them, crushing them to death. We need to inflitrate the building, set up a gunpowder explosive, and escape without arousing suspicion."

"Sounds like a plan," Kanon agreed on the course of action Francesco decided, "So who's going in?"

"I am," a familiar voice shouted out. Since they were walking and talking, they had headed to their destination, the "Lovely Hearts" brothel, quickly, rendezvousing with their associate. The familiar voice came from a woman dressed in a VERY provocative fashion: Her v-shaped shirt was cut low enough to show plenty of cleavage of her huge breasts, her skirt couldn't go any higher, and the whole outfit simply highlighted the almost perfect hourglass figure. Kanon was already in love with Fiona, so he felt extremely flustered when he stared, but it wasn't until he caught a glimpse of her FACE that he felt something else.

"Crystal!" he shouted, surprised by her appearance, "Is that you?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "You like?"

"Wha?" he blushed, "N-No! Well, it looks good on you, but why are you wearing that!"

"Well, how else did you expect me to get inside?" she pouted, putting her hands on her hips and slouching down a little, expecting an answer while unwittedly showing off more cleavage, much to the delight of the men who stood outside the brothel.

"It's impolite to stare," Thomas warned the guy, reaching into his belt, picking up a sharp knife, "Should I teach you some manners?" The guy backed away.

"I don't know!" Kanon exclaimed, answering Fiona's question, "I mean, did you HAVE to dress like that?"

"The Lovely Hearts is a VERY prestige brothel," Crystal explained herself.

"Prestige?" Kanon joked, "You have people like HIM going in!" He pointed to a fat, overweight man with a very ugly face and a VERY huge bag holding his florins walking into the door. Thomas smirked at his humor.

"Fiona dressed me up," Crystal explained.

"Fiona!" Kanon exclaimed once more, "What about her! Why don't we have her go in?"

"Shush," Thomas tried to quiet Kanon down, "Whoa, be careful what you say! The guards here aren't exactly deaf you know. As for Fiona, she has some history with Cesare if you don't recall... Surely someone would recognize her, and after defecting to the Assassins, attention is something we are trying to cut down on."

"But do we HAVE to send in Crystal?" Kanon tried to avoid that scenario, "What about the other female Assassins?"

"Crystal volunteered for this one herself," Thomas explained, "It's not like she's really a courtesan: She's going to go in, meet up with the undercover courtesan, plant the explosives, and get out. If she's, for lack of a better term, 'hired' to do a 'job,' then she can take care fo herself. Don't worry about it Kanon."

Kanon thought it over... Yes, he REALLY didn't want to send Crystal in, but after hearing the plan, and placing his faith in Crystal, decided to go through with it anyway. "Alright then," he relunctantly agrees, "Plan's a go."

"Thanks for trusting me," Crystal smiles.

"Don't worry about it," Kanon plays it off, "Just get out of there in one piece." He smiled back before she walks in through the door, strutting her body around EXACTLY like Fiona taught her, much to the chargin of the two boys who stood outside.

But it was chargin that the other guys felt, the duo noticed as they hear people approaching the door from behind. As one of the man mentioned something about "having fun with the cutie who walked in," Kanon placed his arm on his, trying to convince him on not entering the door.

"Sorry buddy," Kanon warned, "Private party. I'm going to need you to come back another time."

"Psh," the man joshed, "Out of the way." He tried to push Kanon away, but Kanon was pretty strong for his size, so he was able to hold off on being pushed around.

"I told you to get out of here," Kanon warned once more, this time with fire in his eyes.

"Oh I heard you," the man started to get angry, "But I've tasted EVERY girl in the brothel.. And I'm not leaving until I've tasted her... Or she tasted ME."

Kanon immediately punched the man in the face as hard as he could, sending him straight into the ground with a broken nose. Blood gushed out of him like a faucet, and despite trying to stop the blood from going into his mouth with his hand, the blood seeped through and onto the ground. The man was extremely peeved right now, but Kanon stood his ground, ready to take on any and everyone.


	30. Sequence 29 Lovely Hearts

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 29: Lovely Hearts

[Commencing memory...]

The man lunged his huge, giant fist at Kanon with remarkable speed, but like a flash of lightning, Kanon seemingly flashed to the side, narrowly dodging to his left before uppercutting the man in the jaws, presumably knocking it loose. The man jumped in the air and fell to the ground, landing on his back, knocking all the wind out of him. He gasped, trying to gather all the air that he could, but Kanon knocked him out of the game for good with a swift kick to the stomach, rendering the man unconscious.

Thomas, despite having his blind eyes covered by a piece of cloth, was able to handle himself quite well: One man's friends, after seeing his buddy go down, charged at Thomas, only to be met with a kick to the gut, stopping him dead in his tracks. He groaned in pain loudly, deforming his fist to hold his stomach, but it didn't reduce the pain or anything. Thomas followed up this moment of reprieve by kicking him with his other leg, flipping over the previous leg, in the face, knocking him into the dirt.

The guards overlooking the brothel stood still: They were supposed to stop any commotion that occurred outside the door that could pose a probelm to the brothel's reputation, but from their experience, they only had to intervene on small things, like violents drunks, slandering preachers from the Church, and rival courtesans trying to take the customers with promises of more "pleasurable" acts at a lower cost. They NEVER seen a group of people take on two young man and LOSE before... The best course of action, they decided, was to pretend that they don't see anything, despite the huge brawl brewing right in front of them.

Kanon chopped the next man's face, horizontally at the eyes, to blind the man momentarily before proceeding to land a blow to the body, subdueing him quickly. The rest of the man's friends grew even more angry, all the more determined to put the hurt on our two heroes despite not even landing a single hit, and picked up whatever could be used as a weapon: Empty vases, pieces of wood, and one even found a broom nearby.

"No killing," Kanon instructed Thomas, "Let's not draw in any bad publicity."

"Fine by me," Thomas shrugged, "I probably don't even need 'em anyway."

One of the men ran in to swing the broom at Thomas, which considering how heavy it looked, probably would've done some damage, but Thomas never found out if it would've or not because he ducked at the swing and kicked the man in the leg, causing him to drop down to his knees. With that, Thomas took the broom away from him with ease and proceeded to return the gesture with a swing of his own: The broom collided with the man's face, breaking his nose and a few of his teeth right out of his mouth, rendering him down and out.

Kanon decided to take charge this time by rushing towards the enemies at full speed. The man holding a piece of wood (that he found next to an unfinished fence) gripped it tightly, ready to swing it at Kanon as the man behind him got his vase ready. As Kanon drew near, the man swung his piece of wood as hard as he could, but Kanon slid under him, between the legs, and slid towards the man holding a vase. During the slide, he kicked the man in the "unit," causing him to drop the vase and cup his privates.

As he groaned in pain loudly, and with Kanon still on the floor, he avoids the vase that hit the ground with a loud thud and kicked it towards the man he slid under, causing the vase to knock him down like a bowling pin. As he starts to fall, Thomas, in a tag team fashion, ran straight up to the man and, while the man was falling over, jumped onto his chest and kicked him down harder, allowing Thomas to spring himself off. The man landed right at the other man's knee, knocking HIM over, and knocking them both out.

"That was pretty cool," Kanon high-fived Thomas, "Good work out there."

"Right back at you," Thomas smirked. Kanon, finished with the bouts, decides to take a breather, sitting down by a huge tree that provided plenty of shade from setting sun. However, before he could close his eyes and rest, Thomas kicks him lightly on the leg, telling him to get up. "Come on," he egged, "We're not done yet."

"What?" Kanon wondered, "We pretty much stopped anyone from going in the brothel with that little show we put on." He pointed at the crowd of people who stood in a mixture of amazement and fear at the duo as they stood outside the brothel. "See? What's left for us to do?" However, Thomas explains that there is much more to do.

"There's more to this mission," Thomas went on, "We need to rig the place to blow up."

"I thought that's why we sent in Crystal?" Kanon questioned, "Why do we need to go in?"

"Well," Thomas started, "Francesco had thought of a way to make a timed explosive by using gunpowder, a rope, and fire. See, you put gunpowder in a barrel and stick one end of a rope inside, leaving the other half of the rope outside. When you burn that end of the rope, the fire will travel through the rope to the gunpowder, kind of like how a cannon works. Anyway, in order to take down a building this big, we need to destroy four support beams that hold the building up that's located underneath it."

"I get it," Kanon figured it out, "So because we can't have the explosives explode all at once, we need to rig and light the bombs at the same time."

"Exactly."

"But wait," Kanon questioned as he got up from his spot, dusting himself free of dirt and dust, "We aren't exactly in disguise like Crystal was-"

"You wouldn't look good in a dress anyway," Thomas coyfully smiles.

"Cute," Kanon smirked, "But you know what I mean: Wouldn't the guards be one the look out for Assassins? I mean, we wear white... we have hoodies... we don't have a ring finger..."

"Don't worry," Thomas assures, "Yeah, it's true that Cesare's well aware of Assassins, but not everyone would know of us. I assumed that all of the higher ranking soldiers who are told about us would be the ones living it up in the party. And since this is a rival brothel, the courtesans here don't know of the Assassins; To them, we're just members of a society that they know nothing about."

"Sounds good," Kanon was starting to feel good about the plan, "Just one last thing: If Crystal had to disguise herself to walk around the place, how are we going to? I mean, I'm sure brothels restrict people from travelling around the place: You sign in at the front, get escorted to a room, get escorted back, and get out."

"That we're going to have to wing," Thomas shrugged, "But that shouldn't be too much of a problem: We did inflitrate a heavily guarded station before on our own; I'm sure we'll think of something. Hell, Crystal should have the harder job since she'd be force to 'escort' any man who wants her."

Kanon had a worried look on his face upon hearing that, but Thomas was quick to reassure him. "Don't worry about Crystal so much Kanon," he patted him on the back, "She'll be fine. You trained her yourself."

"Yeah," Kanon tried his best not to sound worried, "Alright then, let's go." Kanon and Thomas both walked through the door to the brothel past the two guards scared stiff out of their minds after seeing the spectacle that they caused.

As they entered the brothel "Lovely Hearts," one would expect it to just like any other brothel: A run down dive with flithy, barely dressed girls with enormous assets and plenty of sex-craving men. But this brothel was different: There were chandeliers hanging above their heads, providing plenty of lighting for all to see that it's free of any dirt and grime. There weren't any sex-craved men, or at least, not any sleazy ones... These men wore the finest suits that money can buy and act with dignity. And the girls.. They weren't some cheap, dirty girls that you see on the streets, but clean women with a sense of style and elegance (even as a courtesan).

"Whoa."

That's all they duo could say. Sure, Kanon have been to brothels before, and Thomas was blind, but the atmosphere was very apparent from just being here: It felt to them less like a brothel and more like some rich guy's mansion: There were high quality paintings that lined the walls, a soothing aroma that lingers in the air, and plenty of fancy food and wine fresh from a corked bottle. And all of this in the front lobby; Imagine what a party a man like Cesare, a man of enormous money and wealth, could buy...

"Hello there," a sexy woman with a seductive voice called out to them, "Welcome to the Lovely Hearts."


	31. Sequence 30 Double Agents

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 30: Double Agents

[Commencing memory...]

Neither Kanon nor Thomas moved or blinked: They were literally stunned by the woman standing behind the podium's beauty. Her luscious, glossy red lips stood out from her face without being too noticable, her curves led to that "hourglass" image that's so rare to see in women, and with a voice like that, the soft, yet seductive siren's call, made her a VERY attractive woman. And she knew it, as when she noticed that they were drawn to her like a moth to flame, she smiled slyfully, knowing that she got them hook, line, and sinker.

"So by the way you're staring at me," she pointed out with her hands on her hips, "I assume that you're not here to rent a room for 'private' use with each other?"

"No ma'am," Kanon nervously replied after snapping back to reality, faking a cough a few time as an excuse to use his hand to cover his embarassment, "We're definitely here to, um... 'sample' your wares."

"Y-Yeah," Thomas fake coughed a few times, "We're here for the women."

"Well," the hostess leaned forward to purposely show them her cleavage, "See anyone you like? Or perhaps I can give you some company if I appeal to you."

"What about me?" Thomas shrugged.

"Oh, I can handle two little boys," the hostess let on, "Either one after another, or perhaps at the same time..."

Both Kanon and Thomas grew bright red from all the blushing they did that the hostess smiled at their tomato resembling heads. Sure, they weren't here for a "good time," but they certainly didn't remember that seeing as how they got offered sex right when they walked through the door... Classy indeed. Of course, had they refused the offer, it might've struck out as odd to the woman, especially since she was seemingly the most popular one in the lobby, with the biggest assets and comely attitude.

"Alright then," Kanon's hands were shaking as he reached into his pockets for the pouch that held his florins, "So how much for a room?" He tried to sound as calm and collected as ever, but he was failing noticably.

"100,000 florins," the hostess dropped.

"100,000 florins!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Each," she replied while showing off her body once more, trying to entice the young men that their money was going for a good cause. But to an Assassin, 100,000 florins weren't exactly easy to come by; As Assassins, their job was to prevent the Templars from taking over the world, and since both organizations, the Assassin's Guild and the Templars, are secretive, it was a thankless job, and one without pay. Sure, one mustn't expect payment for saving the world, but when one must eat, every little bit helps. After all, it isn't like every Assassin could own a monopoly of tailors, merchants, and blacksmiths... Like that one fellow in Italy.

Luckily, Kanon had enough money on him to cover the cost, but he handed over the money, albeit reluctantly, seeing as how they WON'T be getting their money's worth. If Kanon recalled right, all the money the hostess makes goes into a safe located underneath the podium, which is deposited as soon as possible. And lo and behold, she bended over to place the money in the safe, something that Kanon paid attention to.

"That eager to get started?" the hostess noticed Kanon staring. Sure, he caught a glimpse of her behind, which wasn't hard to do considering how big it was, but he was really more interested in getting his money back. He did, after all, have a woman, even if she was a courtesan herself...

"Well," Kanon turned to Thomas, letting in on some inside joke, "We're definitely eager to bring the house down..."

"Then let us head on up to the room," the hostess got up from her spot and walked over towards Thomas and Kanon. She grabbed on to their hands and escorted to them to their rooms, which while seemingly beig polite, it was really so the guests wouldn't wander off. The girls were also taught to entice the men to look at them as they walk in order to draw attention from any wandering eyes. Since Thomas was blind, she felt that only Kanon was a threat, so she struts her goodies at him anytime he looked around for Crystal or something.

However, Thomas was extremely gifted at being blind, as he could somehow essentially "see" despite being blind: Sure, most blind people get enhanced senses due to the lost of one of their functions in order to compensate, but Thomas's senses weren't only enhanced, but amplified, allowing him to possess excellent hearing that can be used to hear a pin drop from anywhere in the room, AND determine the depth (where it in room) and height of the drop. So while Kanon kept his eyes on the hostess, Thomas "looked" around with ease, definitely not drawing attention towards him.

After passing by many corridiors filled with beautiful woman and horny rich men, they eventually reached their room that lacked a "Occupied" sign. She opened the door and allowed the men in first, in order to lock the door behind her, and placed the "Occupied" sign behind her. Thomas paid EXTRA attention to where the woman placed the key (inbetween the wedges of the door) before turning around, trying to let on that he knows.

The room was a lot nicer than the Rosa In Fiore: The bed looked like it was fit for a king with satin sheets and a canopy, the paintings around the room were brightly luminated by the abundance of candles (as opposed to the dark, brooding slum-ish room that the Rosa had), and there was even fresh fruit lying on the table, though one wouldn't expect to eat it as there were other "needs" to attend to.

"Shall we get started?" the hostess strips off her outer wear, revealing a very sexy underwear underneath. She comes on to Kanon, deeming him to be the first to be allowed pleasure, though she didn't really restrict Thomas from "joining in." She started to kiss Kanon, who somewhat kissed back, albeit forcefully, as she placed him in on the bed. Kanon opened his eyes and saw that the hostess's eyes were closed, and signaled Thomas by blinking rapidly. Thomas came over, and while the hostess thought that he was just merely joining in, Thomas placed his thumb and index finger like a crab and squeezed her neck at the right spot, knocking her out peacefully.

"Sorry sweetheart," Thomas shrugged, "Was it good for you too?"

Kanon nudged the woman off of him, rolling her on the bed, and proceeded to cover her in sheets like a gentleman. But wait a minute, he thought to himself before speaking his mind to Thomas, "Hold on, wouldn't she and practically everyone here be killed when we blow the building?"

"Francesco thought ahead," Thomas acknowledged, "He was well aware that there'd be innocent... at least, in a sense... people here, so he's only telling us to blow the support beams UNDERNEATH a very specific room so only that room will cave in. In order to do that, Crystal and the courtesan informant are going to mark the ones that we're going to blow. But first, we need to get the supplies."

"So how we're getting around?" Kanon shrugged, bringing up a topic that should've been explained before they even got inside the building.

"Well it's nighttime by now," Thomas figured, "Which means that the room will be naturally darker even with the candles, so I brought some black clothes for us to switch to. We're going to sneak around and avoid getting caught."

"Just like old times?" Kanon remarked, seeing as how they did this once before in a heavily guarded sentry building one time to steal some battle plans from a heavily guarded fortress.

"Just like old times," Thomas remarks as he brought out the clothes from them to switch to. They both switched into their new black outfits as fast as possible and re-organized their equipment: They only carried throwing knives, bullets, smoke bombs, and of course, their Hidden Blade, with them in order to reduce weight and noise while still being very deadly.

"What about the woman?" Kanon pointed to the half-naked body lying underneath the canopy.

"Well, you can still get your money's worth if that's what you're wondering," Thomas joked, "Hey, I'll join you, but no touching."

"Shut up you pervert," Kanon joked back, "I meant what if she wakes up? She's probably going to alert someone."

"Good point," Thomas thought to himself, "Here, have her drink this." He pulls out a small bottle of liquid that Kanon took, opened, and gave to the woman to drink. He lifted up her neck and poured the contents down past her lips, into her throat, and into her stomach. She coughed a little while choking it down, but she calmed back down, this time, snoring soundly.

"What was that stuff?" Kanon wondered as he examined the bottle, curiously about what was inside, "And do you always carry it around, feeding it to women?"

"It's just cold medicine," Thomas remarked, "A doctor gave it to me. Told me that it'll knock me out for a few hours, which plenty of time for us to complete our mission."

"Well then," Kanon remarked back, satisfied with his answer after he opened the window leading to the outside, allowing them to scale up to the roof, "Shall we?"

Thomas grabbed the key that the hostess placed and jumped out of the window with Kanon. They climbed and scaled to the roof by clinging to the side of the building and climbing on every foot hold and ledges they could grab. As they got to the roof, they wandered around the roof, trying to look for any opening to get inside. They went over the plan once more, this time incorporating some hand signs and gestures for voiceless communication, getting ready for some covert ops...


	32. Sequence 31 Chaos Theory

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 31: Chaos Theory

[Commencing memory...]

"Ready?"

"When you are."

"I asked you first."

"Surely you have better things to do than to goof around with corny comebacks..."

"Yeah, I guess so. But don't call me Shirley ever again."

The duo hung underneath a window still waiting for the passerby to do just that (pass on by). As the courtesan moved away from the window, Thomas pulled himself up to slide the window open, allowed Kanon to climb through the window himself, and followed right behind him. The partners, decked in black, immediately closed the windows behind them and ran for the closest piece of cover they could find, which happened to be underneath a nearby table with a tablecloth over it. One of them lifted the white sheet long enough for the other to slide on through before heading on in himself.

After a moment of silence, Kanon took out on of his knives and cut an ever so tiny slit through the cloth, careful to not draw any attention towards him (because who couldn't see a knife stabbing through a piece of white cloth?). After the hole was big enough, he put the knife away in a steath and looked through the hole he created, allowing him to scan and survey the area. There were plenty of rich men hanging around courtesans, who put up with their corny jokes and fancy demeanor for a quick buck, talking about how this is the "good life."

"Ah..." one of the man sighed, "Isn't this the life? We have money... We have good food... We have good women..."

"Indeed, my friend, I could stay here FOREVER! If only that damn Borgia didn't rent out the damn place..."

"Well, worry not! We don't have to leave for another half hour! Why don't we take these fine young women into our rooms and turn them against each other? I want to see these sisters the way all sisters should be seen!"

The men laughed at their perverted fantasies while the women groaned in disgust. Sure, they had to do whatever the customer wants them to do, provided that they had the cash to cover it, but the things they do for money... Was money really worth losing their dignity? Losing their senses? Losing their respect for not only the people watching them engage in such manners, but themselves as well? The sisters reluctantly escorted the men to their rooms, dragging their feet as they walked down the hallway.

"Should we make a quick detour?" Thomas asked, "I really want to give them a piece of my mind."

"Easy now Thomas," Kanon tried to calm him down, "We have to focus on our mission. Besides, this whole place is filled with people like them. If you're going to take out those two, you're going to have to take them all down."

"Whatever then," Thomas expressed his distain, "Let's get moving."

As the coast was cleared, Kanon gave the signal and the duo dashed out from underneath the table and looked around for the next point of entry. Sure, the pair didn't have a map to direct them of the building's layout, or hell, where they are at this very moment, but they knew that they had to head underground, and seeing as how the courtesans are VERY secretive, meant that the stairs that lead down the to basement is somewhat in the back, away from the eyes of any regulars.

They ran in any direction that didn't have anybody standing in, which was pretty nerve-racking for the two seeing as how they are pretty easy to see, but since the placement of the people determined where Thomas and Kanon went, they eventually went to the front hall that's located just past the front lobby where the front door resides, albeit on the balcony above everyone else. They looked down below, albeit after taking cover to hide themselves, and overhead a conversation between some of the courtesans.

"Where's Emilia?" one of them asked the two.

"The hostess? Ugh... Knowing her, I wouldn't be surprised if she was 'entertaining' somebody right now."

"Seriously, she's such a whore, I bet that she's entertaining two men at once, if not more!"

"Enough! We have some very important soldiers coming in for a party for Cesare Borgia, so it's VERY important that we show everyone a good time. I don't care what they ask you to do, you'll do it, you'll like it, and if you make a lot of money today, you'll be rewarded AFTER we take our cut, understand?"

"Yes ma'am." they said in unison.

"Good. And one more thing: Since they'll be a lot of soldiers, we don't want to risk our 'secret' that's happening in the back. I don't need to remind you what goes on back there, but I WILL remind you that NO ONE is allowed back there. Keep ALL guests in the banquet hall, understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tend to the front desk."

The group of courtesans dispersed after their little conversation, giving the Assassins a chance to jump down. Once the ladies were out of sight, out of ear shot, and hopefully, facing the other way, Kanon hopped over the railing of the balcony and gripped it tightly, hanging there. Thomas then hopped over the railing as well, but instead of hanging on to the rails, he held on to Kanon himself, allowing him to be lowered into the ground as much as possible before dropping down, making little noise and less impact. Kanon soon dropped himself as well, taking only a second to shake off the impact before they started to run in a another direction.

"Hey Kanon," Thomas asked him, "What do you think that woman meant by their 'secret?'"

"I don't know," Kanon shrugged, "Then again, I don't think ANY man knows ANY secrets women has."

The duo kept running as fast they could, dodging courtesans, cooks, and more as they made their way further and further inside the brothel, being careful to hide beneath any and all hiding spots: Underneath tables, behind indoor flowers pots, inside any nook and cranny... It definitely never gets old when the Assassins are hiding not only directly IN FRONT of a passerby, but several CENTIMETERS away... No amount of training could get someone used to that, but lo and behold, they manage to evade detection everytime.

Occassionally, the duo would have to get rid of some "obstacles" that hung in their way. Right in front of them in the middle of a hallway was a lone guard who was assigned to keep watch over the deeper areas of the place. When he wasn't paying attention, Kanon and Thomas both threw a knife at his chest, piercing through his metal plating, stabbing him in the heart. He groaned a little, grabbed his chest, and tried to stopped the bleeding, but he fell to his death quickly, and Kanon and Thomas both ran over there to hide the body underneath a table as soon as possible.

Eventually, the duo makes it to the lobby where the stairs leading down reside, but all around the lobby was plenty of courtesans and guards hanging around.

"Damn," Thomas said softly, "How we're going to get past all those people?"

Kanon took a moment to anaylze the situation: There weren't many guards, but there were enough of them that made it impossible for them to kill any one of them without drawing attention. Not only that, there were courtesans that hung around the lobby as well, all talking to each other and just hanging out, which meant that they would need to clear the room first. But with so few equipment, there isn't anything they could do...

Until Kanon thought of something. "Hold on a second," he told Thomas, "I'll be back. You just plan on getting rid of the guards when moment comes." Before Thomas could get a word in, though he attempted, Kanon dashed out of there and head for the kitchen, still being careful of not being seen, as he still clinged to the shadows and hid behind objects. But with much patience and persistence, he made it into the kitchen filled with chefs slaving over a fire to cook the finest meal for Cesare's men. Sure, there wasn't much need to cook, as after all, who comes to a brothel for food, but nevertheless, they had a fine kitchen... It was as clean as a whistle and filled with such an attractive aroma...

Kanon snapped out of his slight hunger and remembered what he came here to do: He pulled out a tiny smoke ball and kept it in the palm of his hand before proceeding to take out a throwing knife and tossing it at a nearby rack of other knives when someone passed by it, hoping to make it look like an accident. And he succeeded: When the knife rack fell to the ground, it caught the attention of all the other cooks, causing them to flock around the accident. And as the cooks left their pots, Kanon snuck in behind them and placed a smoke bomb where they were roasting the meat before hightailing out of there.

The bomb exploded a tiny bit, but he didn't plan to use it as a explosive, but rather a distraction, and he succeeded: The smoke caused the cooks to sound an alert for a fire, which drew the people in the lobby out to the kitchen. Kanon merely backtracked his way to the lobby where Thomas stayed, being less careful in not getting caught this time around as no one was truly paying attention to anything but the smoke. When Kanon returned to the lobby, the guards were gone.

"Took you long enough," Thomas noted.

"What'd you do to them?" Kanon asked.

"I threw a smoke bomb when the people left to confuse the guards. One by one I slit their throats and hid the bodies behind the stairs." Thomas pointed to the back of the stairs where there's some empty space behind, presumably where the bodies were located.

"Well then," Kanon spoke after running towards the stairs, "Shall we?"


	33. Sequence 32 Entering and Breaking

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 32: Entering and Breaking

[Commencing memory...]

Kanon and Thomas ran into the down the steps as quickly as they could in order to avoid detection. After gliding down the flight of stairs, as they reached a set of double doors at the end of the hall, they immediately rammed their backs at the walls to the side of the door, hoping to take a quick breather. They started rummaging through their equipment one more time, checking all of the contents again, discussing what might lie beyond the door.

"Hey, what do you think's behind this door anyway?" Thomas asked curiously as he kept messing with his Hidden Blade, triggering the mechanism that launches the blade over and over again, putting drops of oil in the mechanism to ensure that it wouldn't jam in a situation most crucial, "I mean, why the big secret? It's just a brothel..."

"Who knows?," Kanon shrugged, checking the number of knives that he carried on him. He patted his body to locate which pockets contained a knife and which didn't, and rearranged them so that he would have a knife that was convienent for him to grab.

"Well, obviously the courtesans who work here," Thomas remarked, trying to inject some humor into the situation despite how nerve-wrecking it was.

"Very funny," Kanon lowered his eyebrows (despite being slightly amused at his joke) as he said that sarcastically, "Don't quit your day job."

"As an Assassin?" Thomas smirked as he drew up his Blade, eager to stick it in to someone after he just finished applying the oils, which made it gleam in the bright lights, "Wouldn't dream of it."

After a final check up from both sides, they both nodded in agreement to go ahead and open the door. They both grasped the knobs of their respective door and, after counting from one to three, turned it to the side and slammed the door open, using their adrenaline to enhance themselves to move faster, which allows them to perceive things to move slower. Using this slowdown, they were able to survey and analyze the room for any threats that might be lurking around.

As luck would have it, there were four soldiers standing around the door, suddenly startled by the loud ruckus caused by the duo. With the advantage of the element of surprise, Thomas and Kanon, both in unison, grabbed a throwing knife lodged in their pockets and threw it at two of the guards right in between the necks. The knives ripped through the unguarded flesh and pierced through their wind pipe, killing them instantly and thankfully, as blood rushed out of their necks, seeping through the steel that acts as a plug to keep all the gooey red liquid inside.

The other two guards, however, were better covered in a much heavier armor that rendered knives useless against them. While a bullet could've possibly penetrated through, the time it takes to properly aim and fire the gun, not to mention all for an unsure kill, weren't worth the hassle at all. So instead, despite being armed with a mere Hidden Blade, they charged at the lumber guards as they tightened the grip on their spears.

As one of guards proceeded to stick his spear into Thomas, hoping to roast him on a stick, Thomas, sensing the direction, depth, and length of the stick, immediately jumped into the air, soaring past the pointy object and landing a kick on the guard's face, knocking him around but not down; He merely swaggered about, trying to get his bearings back.

But Thomas didn't allow him to regain his senses; He brandished his Hidden Blade and "searched" for a weak point, a "chink in the armor" so to speak. Once he found it, right behind the guard's kneecap, he quickly ducked below and slashed the tendons from the guard's knee, forcing him to the ground. He screamed in pain as blood started to spew out from behind his leg, but Thomas quickly ended his suffering by forcibly removing his helmet and slashing across his neck, ending his life with mercy.

While Thomas dueled the heavy guard, Kanon had some trouble on his end: While Thomas had dispatched his enemy quickly, Kanon merely only avoided the man's strike with his lance, signifying his higher rank, and threw knives at him, hoping the collective blunt damage done by the repeated bangs against his armor would weaken it enough. However, the man kept trying stab Kanon so much and so fierce that if Kanon had stopped for a single second, he would've been killed instantly, so he kept moving, tossing and picking back up the knives he threw. Despite all the knives that just merely bounce off the man, Kanon kept on doing it, risking his life for a risky technique.

Lucky for him however, the man himself began to tire out from all those thrusts he kept repeating ad nausem, allowing an opening that when Kanon saw, he immediately lunged forward with his incredibly sharp Hidden Blade and stabbed him right in the chest where he tossed his arsenal of knives at, creating a weak point himself instead of trying to find one. The Blade pierced through the banged up armor, albeit a bit on the rough side (though that's to be expected when trying to cut through sheet metal), but nevertheless, it went through, piercing through his heart. The man grabbed his chest, swatting Kanon off of him by smacking the Assassin in the face, as he tried to stop the bleeding, but the damage was already done, and he slowly bled to death, gasping through his helmet.

"Took you long enough," Thomas pointed out as he offered a hand to pick Kanon back up.

"Don't start," Kanon stuck his tongue out at him as he accepted his offer. As he got back up, he wiped any dust he got on his black clothes off and surveyed his surrounding, which was something both of them neglected to do during their little bouts. What lied in the room, besides the support columns that they needed to blow, was the countless of dead bodies that stacked up in piles around the room. "What the...?" Kanon muttered to himself as Thomas sensed what was going on.

"What the hell's going on here?" Thomas spoke outloud as he walked over to the piles of dead bodies, touching the cold corpses. He tried to analyze the bodies by touching them, feeling them, trying to see in what condition were they. The bodied were stiff and hard, meaning that rigor mortis had set in, which meant that these people had been killed a long time ago. While Thomas was trying to gauge how many bodies had been collected here, as well as how LONG they'd been here, with the ability of enhanced senses, he was able to sense that they weren't alone...

"Kanon," Thomas alerted, "Someone's here with us!" Thomas brandished his Blade, prompting Kanon to do the same. While Thomas was doing some investigating, Kanon was busy trying to recollect the numerous knives that he tossed at the armored fellow he was fighting against, but the knives were in too bad a shape to reuse, with them either being too bent out of shape or with too many chinks on the side, so he had left them alone. But now only armed with his trusty Hidden Blade, as well as a handful of bullets, he took the lead and walked in front of Thomas after he pointed to where he sensed someone. He held the Blade down to his side, hoping to keep the Blade hidden as to not provoak whatever's around the corner.

As they peered around the corner, they see a young woman lying on the bodies with nothing in her hands, meaning that she poses no threats. However, upon closer inspection, the young woman was dressed in dirty old rags that were so ripped apart that she was barely covered up, something uncommon considering the "class" of the establishment they were in. And not only that, upon even closer inspection, she was covered in fresh cuts and bruises all over her body. Kanon, trying to start a conversation with this woman, unbrandished his Blade and prompted Thomas to do the same with a hand gesture.

"What happened to you?" Kanon asked curiously and worryingly as he stepped forward and offered a hand. However, when he offered his hand, she immediately backed away from him, leaving behind a small trail of blood. He felt a pang of sadness as she crawled away in pain, but he kept pressing on, hoping to help this young woman. "What happened?" Upon asking that, he noticed that she was bleeding way too much, way too fast. "You're bleeding too much blood..." He said out loud as he drew closer, which caused her to move back, "You need to see a doctor... Let us help you..."

"There's no point," the woman replied back with a deadpan tone with soulless eyes to match, "It doesn't even matter anymore... Nothing matters anymore."

"What do you mean 'there's no point?'" Thomas tried talking to her, "We can get you out of here!"

The woman was staring so blankly at the two that she didn't really notice anything until she recognized the Hidden Blade that Kanon wore. Upon recognizing the signature weapon of an Assassin, her eyes widen as she crawled closer to them despite their pleas for her to save her strength. "You're Assassins, aren't you?" she cried out as she drew closer and closer, "I can tell; Only Assassin have that kind of weapon."

"Yes, we're Assassins alright," Thomas answered, albeit confused, "What about it?"

"Please," she got on her hand and knees and begged depite the blood and tears gushing out of her body, "Kill me."


	34. Sequence 33 A Different View on Things

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 33: A Different View on Things

[Commencing memory...]

"What the hell are you saying?" asked Kanon as the woman kneeled before him, dripping... nay, pouring, blood on the dirty floor. She didn't reply; She simply stayed there, awaiting her supposed "assassination." Thomas, despite the blindfold, had felt that the woman was in much pain as each drop of blood splatters on the floor when she dragged her whole body out of the pile of corspes. Kanon asked his statement again, hoping for an actual answer this time, but no words aside from what she said before came out, the words repeating:

"Kill me."

She had asked them for a mercy kill.

Thomas stood there, awaiting his leader's actions. Kanon mulled this thought over in his head, no doubt aware that Thomas was looking for his guidance. The woman had asked for the Assassin to kill her, but in doing so would conflict the first tenant of the Creed: "Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent." And while it isn't a rule per se, Assassins are usually expected to follow the call of civilians, as would a town guard would do. Still, if they decided to rescue her, they would no doubt be dragged down. After all, she was bleeding far too much to be able to escape on her own, and Kanon and Thomas needed to be ready for anything.

Thomas asked Kanon, not out of impatience but out of wonder, of his thoughts. "You seriously aren't thinking about this, are you?" To Thomas, his choice would've been clear: Save the woman. Kanon, in his heart, knew that this would be the right thing to do, but he couldn't help but wonder on the oddity of the situation: If the woman asked for death instead of to be saved, then what would be the wrong thing to do? If she doesn't want to live, why would saving her be any different from death? Kanon wondered what would drive a person to feel this way, only to recall that he had been in this situation himself;

Fiora Cavazza, a beautiful courtesan, was the object of his love. He loved her more than he thought he could have love anyone, and one day, seemingly out of nowhere, she had left him for a more powerful, wealthier man: Kanon's enemy Cesare Borgia. This move emotionally scarred Kanon, digging a hole far too deep into his psyche, which forced him into a downward spiral of depression. While Kanon had been depressed for as long as he thought possible, he eventually had gotten over it over the course of a few years, working and studying hard on being a better Assassin to forget about her. And while he had risen in rank, his dreams realized, his nightmares constantly taunted him at night, forcing him to be constantly reminded of Fiora's betrayal. With the cold, lonely nights accompanied with nightmares of his past, he too had wanted to die.

"Fine then," Kanon said coldly, his head pointed downward to hide his face, much to the shock of Thomas, "How would you like it?"

An ironic statement to be sure, considering where they were, but nevertheless, the woman got up from the ground, limping as she struggled to stand, and, with eyes open wide with tears (of possibly joy), said "From behind, quick and painless." Kanon only nodded, as if confirming his suspicions that this is how she would want to die. He motioned for her to turn around, which she did so obediantly, and told her that he'll be ripping a piece of cloth from his outfit to cover her eyes, like a proper execution. After the sound of fabric ripping, he raised his hand, readying his gun embedded into his Hidden Blade. Upon hearing the sound of a bullet being loaded into the chamber, the woman closed her eyes and smiled, as if finally relieved, and awaited.

But no bullet shot out. Instead, Kanon used the piece of fabric he ripped off and fashioned it into a makeshift bind, bounding together the woman's hands. She was immediately shocked, as was Thomas, but Kanon paid them no mind; He tied the bind tight enough so that it would not unravel easily, even if it caused pain to the woman's wrists.

"What are you doing!" she questions, no doubt scared at what he's doing. Judging from where he was and how badly beaten up she was, Kanon had no doubt that the woman had been beatened, raped, and left for dead, causing her to want to die. His suspicions were true; She exclaimed out loud "Oh God, not again!" as he finished tying the bind.

"No, this is not going to happen again!" she screamed out as she cries loudly, "I'd rather kill myself than to suffer any longer!" She threatened to bite off her tongue and drown herself in her own blood, but Kanon, with lightning fast reflexes, pinched a certain spot in her neck, rendering her unconscious before she could harm herself. As she slumps to the ground, Kanon had taken another piece of cloth from his outfit and made another bind, this time to gag the woman to stop the threats of biting her tongue.

There was no doubt that this woman has suffered. But whatever pain this woman felt, either physically or emotionally, Kanon knew that pain is only temporary; She will get over what compells her to death, as Kanon surely had done. Whether or not she will WANT to find peace is up to her, but whether or not she will have to chance to do so would be up to Kanon. After finishing securing her, he lied her down on the ground, giving himself a moment of relief as he had to calmly defuse the situation that popped up unneccessarily.

"I didn't expect any of that," Thomas let his thought be known, "I was sure that you would've killed her."

"There's too many dead bodies here," Kanon smirked, "No reason to let the janitor clean up any more."

"True," Thomas smirked back, lightening the mood. But before they could move away from the topic, Thomas had to ask: "So what made you decide not to kill her?"

"Well," Kanon started to explain, "Despite what she says, I had this feeling that she didn't truly want to die. After all, if she had wanted to die, she would've killed herself by biting her tongue out like she said she would've earlier. The fact that she didn't meant that she was probably thinking about killing herself, and when we came along, she thought that she had found an out and would get us to kill her."

Thomas nodded, as if he understood, but Kanon had one more line to add. "Besides," he shrugged his shoulders, "You can die anytime you feel like it; Only the priviledged can live on"

"Alright then," Thomas states before asking, "So what are we going to do with her?"

"What do you mean 'we?'" Kanon joked, "YOU'RE going to carry her out of here."

"That's not what I meant," Thomas sighes, no doubt knowing that he would've had to carry her, "I meant is what are we going to do with her? I doubt that she has a home or someplace to go..."

"I just thought that we would give her a chance to become one of us," Kanon answered, "You know, an Assassin?" Kanon might not know whether or not she'll accept this proposal, but if the alternative to death is to be reborn again, then surely she'll want to choose this path instead. After all, depression isn't far from anger; She's going to want revenge for what they've done to her, and she'll need training to take them down.

But Thomas wasn't worried about whether or not she would join the Assassin's guild, far from it, but whether or not they'll accept her. "Would they let her join? She is a courtesan after all, wouldn't it somewhat of a disgrace to the guild?"

"You seem to forget our newest member," Kanon pointed out, "Remember Fiora Cavazza? She is a courtesan as well."

"But she was a high ranking servant of the Borgia when they recruited her," Thomas himself pointed out, "Not to put this one down or anything but it doesn't seem like to me that the guild would be so easily acceptant of her."

Kanon, after resting his chin on his hand in order to recall something, thought about a story that would seem appropriate for Thomas's concern. Finally, when it came up, he asked Thomas the following: "Do you remember the story of Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, the one Master Assassin I told you about long ago when we were discussing what to do about Cesare Borgia?"

"Yes," Thomas recalled, "The man who put the entire Creed in jeopardy and was stabbed in the stomach by the Grand Master Assassin Al Mualim? What about him?"

"Yes, you recalled that he was stabbed into the stomach, but did you know that he didn't die from it? That the Creed, instead of abandoning him and leaving him for dead, had instead saved him from and only demoted him?"

"They had?"

"Indeed," Kanon answered.

"But why? He was a disgrace to the order, was he not?"

"What he did was disgraceful," Kanon replied, "But even then, the Creed still accepted him back to the ranks, even if he was the lowest of the low. You see Thomas, Altair eventually grew up to become one of the Grand Master Assassin himself, one would had changed the order himself. He invented the gun beneath our Hidden Blade, spread the Order afar, and much, much more. If the Creed hadn't been so accepting of the traitor, then he wouldn't have changed it for the better. So you see, I'm sure the Creed WILL accept her, so we should be worried whether or not she'll accept."

Thomas nodded, fully understanding everything now. Kanon smiled at himself, finally being one of the older members of the Assassins that he himself had to listen to when he was younger. While he was still a young pup in a den of wolves, he had aged and matured considerably, especially following the tragic event of his relationship with Fiora Cavazza, But like it is, he is still much younger, and as such, doesn't know what to feel about Fiora. Sure, they had poured out their feelings towards each other out while drinking, and they even spent the night together, but that wasn't enough for Kanon to just accept as an amendment of their past. He doesn't know what to do and he hated thinking about it.

And so it wasn't long until Crystal came along, along with another Assassin dressed as a courtesan, that he doesn't have to... At least, for now.


	35. Sequence 34 Bringing Down the House

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 34: Bringing Down the House

[Commencing memory...]

"I didn't know I could get 'group service,'" smirked Thomas as two lovely Assassins, masquerading as courtesans, walked into the basement of the building. One of them, a young woman, with silky long, brown hair, seemingly the same age as the rest of the team, wore a very low-cut blouse made with fine materials befitting the status of the brothel, with a very skimpy skirt that would only properly fit a small child. She must be the informant sent to help out the team by locating the pillars in the basement to collapse the banquet room where many of Cesare Borgia's men are held.

"Well, you're free to have as much of the women here as you want," the brunette gestured with her arm, waving it around the room, "Free of charge." She gestured the room because, as a dark secret of the brothel, many people were slained here for various reasons: Many of them were targets or Assassin informants, though many others were just simply regular courtesans, either killed for being accused of being an informant, or to satisy the sick, dark bloodlust inside the hearts of evil men. While killing a courtesan for pleasure is a great source of income, there are also bodies of regular people here, seemingly being killed for extra coin.

"Guess you got what you paid for," Kanon replied, smirking as Thomas shrugged in defeat. After this little exchange, Kanon, upon chuckling at their conversation, patted Thomas's shoulder before going over to talk to Crystal.

"Hey," he went on to ask, "You okay? Anybody gave you trouble?"

"I'm fine," Crystal smiled softly, no doubt because she felt like Kanon's concern was genuine, "Thanks for worrying." She blushed slightly, not enough for it to be overbearing, but not so subtle that Kanon didn't notice. In fact, he too, in turn, blushed as well, stammering the next sentence that he uttered out his lips.

"W-well," he struggled to speak properly, "I-It's not like I can sleep at night if one of my teammates died on me." He turned away in embarassment, trying to hide his red face, only to face Thomas and the other female Assassin, both of which just smiled back at him before resuming their snickering, much to Kanon's annoyance. He knew that they were laughing at his foolishness, but he couldn't say otherwise.

Speaking of looking away, Kanon had to ask Crystal one more thing, "Hey, Crystal, this room, filled with dead bodies... That doesn't, like, freak you out or anything?"

Crystal shook her head, having answered that "No, Eve warned me ahead of time that there'd be dead bodies here from courtesans and Assassins, so she told me to brace myself."

"Speaking of dead Assassins," Thomas started to pondered, "Eve, how did you manage to get so close as you did while being undetected?"

"Surely you don't find me a traitor," Eve somewhat jokingly accused. Eve wore a face that is hard to read; Her smile seemed sly, but her eyes were slightly downcasted, so it felt like she was smiling for the joke while shedding tears from behind. "Trust me," she started to say, "I've seen enough Assassins been slained and I do not wish for more. This is why I'm helping you three blow this place up. That, and the fact that Francesco Vecellio deemed that the information we were getting here wasn't worth the bloodshed."

She started to tear up, prompting her to wipe her eyes with the cloth of a lovely hankerchief she pulled out of her blouse. It wasn't so far-fetched to assumed that she had many friends working alongside her that must've been killed once they'd let it slip that they were Assassins; It wasn't as far-fetched to assumed that they merely allowed themselves to be executed in order to save Eve from trying to risk her life trying to save them either. After all, a courtesan with a blade hidden underneath her arm isn't exactly subtle.

"Many lives may have been lost here," Kanon put his hand on her shoulder while softly smiling, "But they must've saved many more, and we should remember them for their deeds, not for their deaths." This brought a small smile to the woman's face as she wiped the final tear from her eyes, clearing up her vision.

"I can see why Crystal is quite partial to you; You'd make a fine husband," Eve had let it slip, albeit intentionally. Crystal, from behind Kanon (and out of his view) had blushed immensely, bowing her head to hide her cherry-red face.

Kanon's face, however, was completely visible to Eve's face. He was slightly taken back, forcing himself to take a few seconds before stammering, "Leader, the word I think you're looking for is LEADER. I'd make a fine LEADER."

It seemed like the two Assassins simply adored the way Kanon and Crystal act upon the suggestion that the two should be together; It was a riot to see the two light up brighter than the sun. But enough was enough; Speaking of lighting up, after Kanon regained his composure, he cleared his throat before proceeding with the plan.

"Alright then," he cleared his throat once more for good measure, "On to business. Eve, which of the support beams here are we to destroy?"

"The ones marked with the Assassin's symbol," Eve led the crew around the basement, being careful not to step on a dead body so long as they could help it. The stench of decaying bodies and dried blood here was surprisenly barely noticable, as Ever pointed out that many of the more "decomposed" bodies were taken out quickly before it got too noticable, much like garbage that's been sitting in the kitchen for a while. Still, they say that a scent of something stays longer in the memory banks of one's mind; Even should they forget what a decaying dead body looked like, they sure won't forget what it smelled like for many months.

Eventually they made it to one of the support beams holding up the brothel's "grandest" rooms, where all of Cesare's men are, and saw that it is indead marked: The mark was crudely scratched on with a sharp blade to vaguely resemble the Assassin's iconic symbol, just visible enough that it can be recognized, but subtle enough that you had to look for it in order to even if someone told you it was there. Kanon, in order to help point out which support beams needed to be destroyed more clearly, stabbed a throwing knife into the ones they had marked until all of them, four in total, were found.

"Alright then," Kanon thrusted the last throwing knife into the stubborn piece of wood, "Where are the kegs of gunpowder?"

Eve replied that they are underneath various piles of dead bodies, as it's virtually the only hiding spots within the basement, and, after pointing out which piles held a keg, suggested that they split up to find the four kegs. They agreed that this was the best course of action and went to go find their own kegs, rummaging through corpses in order to find it. It seemed like a good idea, as it's much faster and the less time they spent here, the better, but it wasn't long before they heard Thomas mention something, much to the worry of the Assassins.

"I hear something," Thomas paused to confirm his senses, "Footsteps... Someone's coming!'

"Like that's not something that happens at a brothel?" Kanon tried to hide his nervous demeanor with a crude joke. The Assassins looked at him for a moment with eyebrows knitted, but Kanon just shrugged; He didn't have time to come up with something super witty.

"What are we going to do?" Crystal asked after the pause of silence, knowing that, at the moment, only Kanon and Thomas were armed and properly equipped for combat; If these were soldiers, their weapons would slice through their clothes and flesh much faster than a hot knife on butter.

"Uh, quick," Kanon quietly exclaimed under his breath, "Hide in the piles of dead bodies!"

It was a disgusting idea, but as the intruders grew closer, and the metallic clunk of each step from their suit of armor grew louder, the Assassins had no choice but to quickly toss aside a body, dive right in, and lie there. They did so relunctantly, as it was completely creepy to have to lie in a mountain of corpses, but they were unsure of how many people were coming, and they couldn't risk a fight with two liabilities. Speaking of the liabilities, Eve and Crystal hid in the same piles of bodies while Kanon and Thomas had to lie in two seperate piles since the ones they were next to where too small to accommodate them both, especially with all their gear on.

"Guess you're going to get that group service after all," Kanon joked, albeit with his voice being unsettled. He tried to calm himself from having to be within two inches of what could easily pass for a "living dead" being: The face of a woman was covered in dried blood, her eyes thankfully closed, but her mouth wasn't as it gaped slightly... No doubt that she had her throat slit, although Kanon didn't want to confirm that. Her flesh was still stiff, but it only felt that way; It still looked very much alive to Kanon. And that went for ALL of the dead bodies around them.

"Yeah, well, I demand a refund," Thomas joked back. Kanon wondered if being blind was useful in this situation judging by Thomas's somewhat calm demeanor.

"You got what you paid for," Kanon retorted, the same line he used earlier.

"Fine, then take all the bodies back." Thomas was not as foolish as to fall for the same line twice. Kanon admitted defeat with a shrug and a sigh.

The soldiers who entered the room were searching for the intruders who killed the guards stationed to protect this room from wanderers and planted them behind the staircase, which is Thomas's doing. Kanon and Thomas, harnessing their training, controlled their breaths as the soldiers passed by, evading detection by silently breathing through their noses slowly while staying calm; If they panicked, they would've had their heartbeats raised up too fast and might panic them into breathing more heavily. Thankfully, the guards had passed by quickly, much to the relief of the two, but it wasn't until they heard shouting that they knew that it was false blessing.

"Who the hell are you!" the guard kicked over the pile of corpses, revealing Eve and Crystal underneath. Apparently, while they could both fit in the collection of dead bodies, one of the bodies on top of the pile had gotten loose and fell off, tipping a few more bodies along the way, revealing those inside.


	36. Sequence 35 Till I Collapse

[Accessing memory...]

Memory Block 2:

Sequence 35: Till I Collapse

[Commencing memory...]

"I say this again," the guard's losing his already short temper, "Who the hell are you?"

The two girls who sat there exposed said not a word; Eve just merely glared at the guards as Crystal hugged her tightly. Eve must've had nerves of steel to give off a menacing glance, let alone be scared. Crystal, on the other hand, wasn't as strong as Eve; she was an Assassin, through and through, but she was still a young woman, and as such, still gets frightened when cornered. Eve wrapped her arm around Crystal, comforting her, having realized that she must've been scared. "What should we do?" Crystal asked her as they lie defenseless.

"What should we do?" Thomas echoes Crystal, asking Kanon. Kanon pondered over his options as he sat there silently, bringing a finger to his chin.

"Should we just chuck a throwing knife at them?" Thomas questioned.

"No good; Armor's too thick. All that would do is just leave a dent." Kanon answered.

"What about the Hidden Gun?"

"The sound's loud enough as it is... It would echo throughout the basement and leak into the building." Kanon took a moment to assess the situation, thinking silently to himself, before suggesting, "We should try to assassinate them from behind."

Thomas nodded his head in agreement. "Should we use a smoke bomb?" He pulled out the tiny, black bomb out of his pockets to show Kanon he still had one left.

"No," Kanon tried to explain, "If they are smart enough, they'll use Crystal and Eve as hostages once the smoke bomb goes off, and that'll cause more problems. Besides, we only have one smoke bomb since I used mine to create the diversion in the kitchen; We need to save it for the escape."

Thomas, once again, agreed with his friend, pocketing the bomb from where it came from. He and Kanon both tested their blades before setting out by slinging their arms down, activating the mechanism to see if it would jam; any resistance could mean the difference between life and death. Once satisfied with the performance of their gear, they quietly nodded their heads to initiate the plan, setting out.

[ANIMUS ERROR]

"Please sir," Eve tried to persuade the guards to let them go, "We're just courtesans told to dump a body here. We weren't doing anything wrong... Well, aside from what we're told."

"Is that so?" one of the guards questioned, specifically Crystal, who wore a face of fright, "Then why were you hiding in the pile of the bodies?" Crystal choked up; she couldn't say a word.

"My friend here," Eve tugged at Crystal's arm, specifically pointing out her empty wrists, "Lost one of her bracelets when throwing away the bodies and we were searching for it. See?"

The guards seemed satisfied with the answer; after all, they understand the importance of jewelry to a woman, especially those from a high-end brothel such as this. "Alright then," one of the guards spoke, "Hurry up and get your damn bracelet; the guards stationed here have been killed and we believe that the killers may be in the basement."

"That's horrible..." Eve replied as she saw a glimpse of a black shadow swiftly moving from one pile of dead bodies into another, "We should definitely 'take care of them.'" Eve tugged Crystal's arm once again, this time bringing back to the pile of dead bodies to "search" for a lost bracelet.

"Thanks for that," Crystal whispered to Eve as she rummaged through the corpses, slightly disturbed.

"No worries," Eve smiled back, "We girls need to stick together."

[/ERROR]

Kanon and Thomas had split up in order to minimize detection since it's much easier to hide one body than two. Silently but swiftly, they crouched and scurried from one pile to the next, careful not only to be detected, but also knocking down any pile. With their reduced gear, sneaking around was much easier as they didn't have to worry about heavy footsteps or loose weapons, but at the same time, it's nerve-wrecking to have very little on you when there's a potential for a fight.

Still, the story Eve told the guards helped them a lot; not only did she divert their attention in allow Kanon and Thomas closer, but she also cleared them of suspicion, meaning that the guards would back off, away from "hostage grabbing range." The only problem with it was that she couldn't stall them long enough for them to actually kill the guards; once they were finished talking, the two guards stood readily at attention, on the lookout for the "killers" that killed their fellow brethren. It didn't make the rescue impossible, but it did make it a lot harder for Kanon and Thomas to get closer without getting caught.

The guards, getting restless, called out to the girls. "Hey, hurry the hell up!" one of them shouted, "We don't have all day!"

"We're looking as fast as we can sir," Eve called back, "Just please, a few more minutes!"

The guard was losing his patience; he turned to one of the piles of dead bodies and, losing control of his anger, kicked it as hard as he could, sending the mountain heap down. Satisfied, he turned to walk away when something caught his eye; something was sticking out of the piles of dead bodies. Eve turned her head to see what had happened and gasped at where the guard was searching.

The guard pushed the dead bodies away like ragdolls, not caring that they used to be alive at one point, and found something most suspicious: One of the kegs of gunpowder hidden underneath. Upon searching the keg's contents, he became furious; he pulled out a small dagger and wielded it, brandishing it at the "courtesans."

"What the hell is this doing here!" the guard yelled out, sending a shiver down the girls' spines, "Explain this!"

"It's not what you think!" Eve tried to persuade him once again, "It's to destroy the bodies! They wanted to destroy the bodies in order to avoid anyone finding out!"

"You have to admit," the other guard nodded his head, hoping to calm the angry guard down, "That does sound pretty reasonable."

"Then explain why this is a keg of gunpowder and not oil," the guard raised his voice, "Or why it's so close to the support beams? Or why it is hidden underneath a pile of dead bodies when they have orders to destroy the bodies?" He turned to the girls to ask them the questions. "Can you explain all that!"

"This isn't good," Thomas mouthed to Kanon worryingly.

"I know," Kanon mouthed back silently, "Just hold on..."

Kanon, upon realized that he had just mouthed words to a blind man, felt like an idiot... That is, until Thomas mouthed the words "Understood" right back, much to his surprise.

Regardless, Kanon knew the situation was bad; He wanted to avoid confrontation by killing the guards as quickly as he could without putting the women in danger, but now that tension had risen, the women were now in harm's way, and it seemed like there was no way to save the two without risking their lives...

Suddenly, a groan echoed throughout the room; literally everyone there stopped what they were doing and looked around for the source of the disruption.

"Did you hear that?" the other guard asked.

"Of course I did," the angered guard answered back tense fully, "Where the hell is it coming from?"

The groans grew louder as time passed on, allowing the guards to pinpoint its location; Eve and Crystal stood still, thinking that its Kanon's and Thomas' doing. However, when they appeared from their hiding spots to question THEM about the noise...

"Hey, how'd you do that?" Kanon asked Eve, who stood there shocked and surprised.

"Wait..." Eve questioned, "You mean you weren't doing that?"

"What?" Thomas replied, "No, we were over here."

"Then what WAS that?" Crystal whispered worriedly.

As the guards investigate the groans coming from the pile of dead bodies behind them, they drew closer and closer to the source... Which was coming from a woman who stood up among the pile, as if coming back to life.

"What the hell!" the guard screamed out, "What is this!"

"I don't know!" the guard who held the dagger gripped it even tighter, "This is a monster!" He thought of stabbing the newly arisen woman, but as she groaned once more, he turned tail and ran, with the other guard following suit. They both were so eager to escape that they inadvertently ran into Thomas and Kanon, who both stabbed the two guards right in the heart, killing them both.

"Necromancers..." one of the guards spoke in his dying breath, "Bloody necromancers..."

"May the light free you from any monsters," Kanon spoke softly, "Rest in peace."

As the Assassins pushed the dead guards off their blades, Eve and Crystal stared at the "walking dead," frozen in fear, as she drew closer. They couldn't even say a word, only expressing their surprise as Thomas walked over to her without any weapons drawn, the only words he spoke being "I got this." As he approached the woman, he pinched the side of her neck, rendering her unconscious, her body slumping over his shoulder as he carried her.

Now the women were speechless for an entirely different reason; they didn't want to know what he planned to do with the woman.

"Please tell me you aren't planning to..." Eve didn't want to acknowledge his weird fetish, "Bed the dead."

"Oh no, perish the thought," Thomas smirked, "She's not dead." He licked his lips mockingly, as if to confirm their thoughts. They wore a face of disgust as he walked by.

"No no," Kanon explained, "It's not like that! She's a woman we rescued earlier by knocking her out; she must've just now have woken up." As Thomas drew closer to Kanon, Kanon turned to him instead and said, "I was wondering where'd you put the body."

"What," Thomas smirked once more, "You'd didn't think I'd forget about her, did you?"

"Perish the thought," Kanon replied.


End file.
